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1 Minute Shrimp Curry (Instant Pot and Stovetop)

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This simple 1-minute shrimp curry is so full of flavor! It’s easy to make, perfectly spiced, and absolutely delicious.

shrimp curry

I’m calling this “1 minute Shrimp Curry” because if you make this in an instant pot, you set the cook time to 1 minute. Now you should know that it takes a couple of minutes for the instant pot to reach pressure before it begins the 1-minute countdown. Still, this dish takes basically no time at all and is super duper simple to make. It’s a “dump and cook” type of recipe.

This recipe is part of my Indian Onion Masala Series, where I share recipes that call for exact amounts of onion masala. Click on the graphic below to find out how to make onion masala, store it, and find other recipes that call for it. Making this masala in advance will make it SO easy for you to prep tasty Indian meals throughout the week.

I have to admit something. I have been a bit against cooking seafood in an instant pot. I mean, seafood cooks so quickly as it is, right? When I shared my recipe for instant pot shrimp biryani, I thought that it would be a one-time thing. Well, I was wrong. It actually is faster to cook seafood in an instant pot IF you’re cooking the seafood from frozen. And while that really only saves a few minutes – more than that – it’s very convenient.

It doesn’t get easier than tossing ingredients into a pot and pressing a button. However, I have included instructions on making this on the stovetop for those who don’t want to use or don’t have an instant pot.

shrimp curry

You will notice that in this recipe I say the 2 tablespoons of heavy cream/coconut milk is optional. That’s because this shrimp curry is so good on its own – but I will say, we like it even better with a bit of cream.

I hope you love this simple and flavorful shrimp curry. It’s delicious! You can serve it with instant pot basmati rice or serve it with my instant pot pea pulao.

shrimp curry

1 Minute Shrimp Curry (Instant Pot and Stovetop)

shrimp curry

1 Minute Shrimp Curry (Instant Pot and Stovetop)

4.82 from 22 reviews
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Servings 2 -3

Ingredients
 

Add Later:

  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk optional
  • Cilantro garnish

Instructions
 

Instant Pot Directions:

  • Add all of the ingredients to the Instant Pot.
  • Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and set the time for 1 minute at high pressure.
  • Quick release.
  • Stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk if using, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Stovetop Directions:

  • Add all of the ingredients to a pot over medium heat and cook until the shrimp is cooked through.
  • Stir in the cream and garnish with cilantro.

Notes

  • This recipe is part of my onion masala series – be sure to check it out!
  • Use frozen shrimp in this recipe if you're making this in an instant pot - otherwise there is a chance that they may overcook.
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Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

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Comments

  2. Kaajal says

    5 stars
    This curry was absolutely delicious! So much flavour and super quick to prepare.

    Do you think it would work if I substituted shrimp for crab?

    Reply

  3. Marianne says

    Hi Ashley,

    Do you peel the tail off the shrimp or can it be with tail on? Thank you!

    I’ve used the onion masala in several dishes now (Chicken Bhuna, Chicken Saag and the Moong Bean Dal) and I LOVE how quickly the meals come together.

    Reply

  4. Vera says

    The flavor is so good! I used previously frozen shrimp that are not thawed all the way but rinsed, which I think made the sauce watery. If I make it again with frozen shrimps I’ll omit the water called for in the recipe. Thank you, Ashley for such an easy recipe!

    Reply

  5. Vini D'Sa says

    I just made a fresh batch of onion masala as I had depleted my previous stock a few weeks ago. I’d like to make the shrimp curry tonight but the recipe calls for frozen onion masala. Is it a problem to use a fresh (never been frozen) portion?

    Thanks.

    Reply

  6. Anu says

    5 stars
    Just had this for dinner tonight! Delicious and so easy! Felt good to get a payoff on my investment in the onion masala. I did feel that the gravy was a bit watery (likely because my onion masala was on the liquid side before I froze it) so I fished out the shrimp and reduced the sauce a bit on saute before adding the cream and shrimp back in. The shrimp were perfect and not overcooked at all. Both my husband and I loved this.

    Reply

  7. Bj says

    3 stars
    Hi!! So, first off— I usually love all your recipes. You are the mother of all instapot recipes! However,
    i tried this on a stovetop and it came out too watery. I used frozen shrimp in the pot. Also, i doubled the recipe as i had a 2 lb bag of shrimp.

    1) can you use fresh onion masala in the instapot?

    2)Are we supposed to thaw the shrimp before for STOVETOP?
    ☹️

    3) can this recipe be doubled??
    On a positive note, this does taste good when done in instapot. The stovetop method was not as successful.

    Reply

    • My Heart Beets says

      Thank you for the kind words! Did the shrimp have a lot of frozen ice on it? I haven’t tried doubling the recipe though would think it’d be fine – the only caveat being that because you’re doubling the ingredients, you’d likely need to cook the curry on the stovetop longer to reduce the volume of the curry. You can also add less water to the stovetop next time – the thing about the stovetop is that pot sizes can vary as can temperature and so it’s not quite as exact as an instant pot.

      Reply

  8. SK says

    As a single guy that can’t cook that well outside of the instant pot and eggs, this website (primarily the onion masala and related recipes) has been so amazing for me to build a routine and learn how flavors work together.

    Thank you for putting this together and please keep new recipes coming. It would also be nice if you can add optional ingredients that might work well in each recipe. For example, I’m going to experiment with frozen bellpeppers with this shrimp recipe to add some veggies/veg broth and make it healthier.

    I have referred this site to many others and they love it as well. Keep up the great work!!

    Reply

    • My Heart Beets says

      This makes me so happy to read! Thanks for letting me know how the onion masala series is helping you 🙂 Love that you’re experimenting – I bet bell peppers will be a great addition to this! I’ll keep that in mind, thanks for the feedback!

      Reply

  9. Lawrence says

    5 stars
    My wife is moaning with pleasure. She has just finished a bowl of this with basmati. I added green beans to appease her need for green. I think my stock has risen!

    Reply

  10. Shilpa says

    I am excited to try this! Can you provide approximate measurements for the onion masala if making it stove-top?

    And would you still use frozen shrimp? Thank you!

    Reply

  13. Raghavi says

    5 stars
    Made this with frozen onion masala. So quick, easy and delicious! I thought the gravy was on the thinner side when I opened it up but upon tasting, it was very flavourful and needed nothing further.

    Reply

  14. Protima says

    Hi Ashley,

    If I dont have ready onion masala, is there a way to make it especially for this recipe? In some of your recipes, I see you list a proportion of onion and tomato that can be blended fresh in place of ready onion masala. Can you tell me what that proportion of fresh onion tomatoes and masalas would be for this curry?

    Thanks

    Reply

  15. Patricia says

    5 stars
    hello Ashley,

    I would like to double this recipe, would it still be same time and do I double all ingredients? also, why wouldn’t adding the freshly made onion masala work in the instant pot? I definitely love the idea of having it frozen for future uses!… just don’t understand why it could not be used freshly made? thank you very much for these wonderful recipes and ideas! 🙂

    Reply

  16. Patricia says

    hello Ashley,

    I would like to double this recipe, would it still be same time and do I double all ingredients? also, why woud’t adding the freshly made onion masala work in the instant pot? I definitely love the idea of having it frozen for future uses!… just don’t understand why it could not be used freshly made? thank you very much for these wonderful recipes and ideas! 🙂

    Reply

  17. Varalika Srivastava says

    Hi Ashley, I’m going to try this but have a couple of questions.
    1. I’ll make it in the instant pot but I don’t have onion Masala and have to make 15 pieces of shrimp. Could you please tell me how many onions to use and if the cooking time/ water quantity or anything else changes?
    2. The recipe mentions FROZEN shrimp. Does that mean they don’t have to be thawed when we cook it?
    Thank you! Can’t wait to try!

    Reply

  19. Enakshi says

    5 stars
    Made this but since I used shrimp that was still frozen, I needed to use a little less liquid but there was an awesome taste and very simple!

    Reply

  23. Jes says

    5 stars
    Ashley, this was delicious! Finally bit the bullet and made some onion masala. Can’t wait to try the other recipes using my batch. 🙂

    Reply

  24. Alden says

    5 stars
    Hey Ashley,

    Tried this last night, and it was delicious. Do you have any fish curry recipes I can use the onion masala with?

    Reply

  25. Niraj P says

    Great, easy and tasty recipe. We had to cook on the stove since we didn’t have any frozen onion masala. I had an over abundance of ghee, so I subbed in that over the oil (typical indian, I know 🙂 ). Keep up the great work!

    Reply

  26. John B says

    5 stars
    Hi Ashley,
    I enjoy your recipes and comments on FB immensely! Does this taste similar to Thai dish? The coconut milk reminded me of Thai food I’ve had before. Can’t wait to make this.
    Thank you!!

    Reply

    • My Heart Beets says

      Thanks, John! Glad you’re liking my recipes 🙂 This dish tastes more Indian to me but I do think Indian and Thai can be similar sometimes. I think it might taste more like a Thai dish if you were to add a bit of sugar to the coconut milk. Let me know what you think though!

      Reply

  27. Carey Letts says

    4 stars
    This recipe came in really handy when I was very behind schedule one evening and I had a phone chat scheduled with a friend! So while I happily chatted I was able to throw all these no-prep ingredients into the IP, set it & wander off. I need more of these recipes in my life!

    I used 31/40 count shrimp and found that they were JUST on the edge of being perfect to overdone. Maybe if I used a jumbo shrimp it would be perfect perfect? The sauce was awesome with steamed broccoli and toasted seeded rye bread to soak it up. Thank you for the recipe!!

    Reply

    • My Heart Beets says

      Carey, so happy to hear that!! I haven’t tried this with jumbo shrimp, but if you do let me know how it goes! I’m sure it’ll work great 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!

      Reply

  29. Maneesha says

    5 stars
    Soooo delicious!! Loved this recipe! I prepped everything, and then as my husband was driving home from work, I turned on the instant pot, and Bam! We had hot shrimp curry in one minute! Loved it! Thank you, Ashley!

    Reply
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