Chef's Spotlight >Abbas Uddin of Agra Tandoor

Shrimp Malabar

Ingredients
8 Jumbo Shrimp, butterfly cut
½ Tbsp. Mustard Seeds
10 Curry leaves
2 Whole Squid, cooked and sliced
½ Tsp. Garam Masala
½ Tsp. Turmeric
½ Tsp. Coriander
½ Tsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp. Sweet Butter
1 Tbsp. Coconut Powder
½ Onion, chopped
1 Tsp. Fresh Ginger, chopped
1 Tsp. Garlic, minced
½ Tsp. Salt
2 Oz. White Wine
2 Oz. Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp. Corn Oil

Method
1. Over high heat, fry onion in butter until translucent.

2. Add garam masala, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and salt and mix in food processor. Add paprika after mixing. Heat overmedium heat for 10-15 minutes for onion-curry sauce.

3. In separate bowl, mix ginger, garlic, and corn oil to form ginger-garlic paste.

4. Over medium-high heat, in a pan wide enough to cook all the shrimp, add ginger-garlic paste, onion-curry sauce, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and coconut powder. Cook two minutes.

5. Add wine and cook on high heat for two minutes.

6. Add shrimp and cook two minutes. When shrimp are done, add coconut milk, stir, and serve.

Serve with mixed vegetables and basmati rice.

The operative word at Agra Tandoor, which opened in March, is "authentic," according to co-owners (and cousins ) Shahi and Koyes Chowdhury. The menu is made to please the American palate, but is composed of the dishes that the average Indian eats every day. While customers new to Indian cuisine may learn to appreciate it at Agra Tandoor, connoisseurs of the mystical subcontinent’s cookery come away more than satisfied. "People here know Southern Indian food, but Northern cooking is popular at home too," says Shahi Chowdhury. "We offer typical and special dishes for people who already understand Indian food, and for converting people to eating it."

Crucial to Agra Tandoor’s authenticity is its cylindrical clay oven, or tandoor, used for cooking at extremely high temperatures over wood, from which popular dishes like Tandoori Chicken derive their names. But nan, a thick, soft bread, is also prepared in the tandoor. Agra Tandoor also offers seafood, lamb and vegetarian tandoori, but are especially proud of their nan. Says Chowdhury: "We make it fresh to order for each customer, baking constantly, and stuffing it like in India, savory or sweet, with garlic or onions or chicken, or else coconut and raisins."

Complementing its "ever-changing, special" main courses and appetizers, the restaurant offers rarely found desserts – Rasmalai, sweet pudding made from homemade cheese; and Golab Jamon, fried cake dipped in honey sauce – as well as traditional rice pudding. And both initiates and aficionados will appreciate Agra Tandoor’s Sunday brunches that include "a little of everything," says Chowdhury. "Like a delightful test." —Susan Piperato