Easy and Flavorful Coconut Shrimp Curry made in the Pressure Cooker in just 20 minutes. This simple Indian shrimp curry is made with ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes, flavorful spices, and coconut milk. Pair this curry with rice for a perfect experience. It’s gluten-free, paleo, and low-carb!
This is one of the easiest Indian shrimp recipes to make when you want to impress someone and have less time to cook. The second reason is that it is a perfect dish for a weekday in just 20 minutes.
While the curry was cooking, I cooked white rice on the stovetop (can be done in a second instant pot or rice cooker), and dinner was served in no time.
You can make this curry with shrimp or prawns. You might have heard that shrimp and prawns are the same and are often used interchangeably. But that’s NOT true. They do taste and look similar, but are very different structurally. The word “prawn” is more frequently used on menus in the UK and India, whereas, in North America, people widely use the word ”shrimp.”
If you like Indian coconut-based curries, check out my Coconut Chicken Curry and Coconut Chickpea Curry recipes!
Are you ready for this delicious Shrimp Curry? Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Watch How to Make Coconut Shrimp Curry
Ingredients
Shrimp: Use tail-on, peeled, and deveined jumbo or extra-large shrimp. Make sure you use raw shrimp. I used frozen.
Aromatics: Onion, ginger, and garlic. You can use red or yellow onion. Use freshly minced ginger and garlic (this is definitely preferred) or a readymade ginger-garlic paste.
Herbs: Cilantro and green chili. These add immense aroma and flavor to this recipe.
Spices: This recipe calls for only a few spices: mustard seeds, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt. You can use my recipe to make your own garam masala. Mustard seeds are used for tempering and provide an earthy flavor.
Tomatoes: Use fresh red plump tomatoes, but you can use canned ones too.
Oil: Use an oil with a high smoking point, like sunflower or avocado oil.
Coconut Milk: Use thick, full-fat coconut milk of your choice.
Lime/ Lemon Juice: A little drizzle of lime juice on the final dish will help to round out the flavors.
How to make Coconut Shrimp Curry in the Pressure Cooker?
The main thing to note in this recipe is that Shrimp cooks very quickly, so we will use the low-pressure setting in the electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot, in my case).
We will cook the shrimp for 3 minutes on low pressure and then quick release the pressure manually to get perfectly cooked shrimp.
I used tail-on deveined large raw frozen shrimp that I got from Costco. If you use smaller shrimp, decrease the cooking time.
The base of this curry is the same as many other Indian curries, with ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes. I also add basic spices, which you will have in your pantry if you have done Indian cooking before.
I have also provided links to Amazon for the spices if you are new to them. However, I highly recommend finding the nearest Indian grocery store for a much cheaper price.
I add coconut milk to the curry to give it a creamier texture. Use full-fat coconut milk for the best results. You can also use heavy cream instead of coconut milk if you don’t need to keep the curry dairy-free.
That said, even with the straightforward preparation, this curry is so flavorful with shrimp, similar to my shrimp masala and tandoori shrimp recipe. This is a must-try!
Garnish with some lime juice and cilantro, and enjoy over rice!
Stovetop Method
Follow the same steps as in the instant pot method to saute the aromatics in a pan on medium-high heat. Then, add the coconut milk and shrimp to the pot. Stir well and cook the curry for 5-7 minutes until the shrimp is just cooked. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice.
Doesn’t the curry look gorgeous? I am ready to eat this again; it is so easy to make!
Recipe Tips
Shrimp: When pressure cooking, use jumbo or extra-large shrimp. That helps prevent overcooking. Adjust the cooking time to 1 minute if using smaller shrimp.
Tip: Remove the steel insert from the instant pot so the curry does not cook more from residual heat.
Veggies: If you prefer, add veggies such as sliced bell peppers, green peas, or zucchini to this curry.
More Sauce: We add less liquid to this curry as the instant pot retains the liquid, and less is needed for cooking. If you like, add 1/4 cup coconut milk after the curry is cooked. The curry does get thicker as you refrigerate it.
Thai Variation: Skip the spices and add red curry paste to make this a Thai shrimp curry.
How to Store?
Leftover shrimp masala can be refrigerated for 2-3 days. Simply microwave or heat in a pan with a splash of water on the stovetop before eating.
How to Serve?
This shrimp curry goes well with rice, especially Basmati rice, jeera rice, or vegetable biryani, but steamed plain rice also tastes equally good.
You can also serve a simple kachumber salad and raita on the side to balance out the meal.
Looking for more seafood recipes? Check out this delicious Salmon Tikka Masala, Tandoori Prawns Tikka, and Shrimp Biryani.
Want to find easy Instant Pot Indian Recipes? Here are 23 Best Instant Pot Indian Recipes for you to try!
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Coconut Shrimp Curry (Instant Pot & Stovetop)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb Shrimp , jumbo, deveined tail-on, frozen (about 16-20)*
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds (Rai), optional
- 1 Green chili pepper , slit in 2 pieces, optional*
- 1 cup Onion, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon Ginger, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Tomato , chopped
- 1/2 cup Coconut Milk , (4oz) full-fat
- 1 tablespoon Lime or Lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Cilantro , to garnish
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne or Red Chili powder, adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
Instructions
- Start the Instant Pot in Sauté mode and let it heat. Add oil, mustard seeds, and let them sizzle.
- Add green chili, onions, ginger, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
- Add tomato and spices. Stir and let it sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and shrimp to the pot. Stir and press cancel. Close the lid with the vent in sealing position.
- Start the Instant Pot in pressure cook mode at low pressure for 3 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually.
- Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro. Coconut Shrimp Curry is ready to be served. Enjoy with rice.
- Tip: Take the steel insert out of the instant pot, so the curry is not cooking more from residual heat.
Stovetop Method
- Heat a pan or Dutch oven on medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them sizzle.
- Then add the green chili, onions, ginger, and garlic. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
- Add tomato and spices. Stir and let it sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and shrimp to the pan. Stir well and cook the curry for 5-7 minutes until the shrimp is just cooked. Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro.
Omg this recipe blew our minds! It was so easy and the taste was just unbelievable. I’ve never made raw shrimp before or even shrimp before and now I have a go to. Thank you for sharing. Hahaha my husband just interrupted my writing to ask me for more.
My family thoroughly enjoyed this recipe – I’m so glad I doubled it! We used one whole can of coconut milk for double the recipe which was perfect. I added half during cooking and the rest afterwards. Thank you!!!
Is it possible to substitute coconut milk? If so. What do you suggest?
Hi Jothy – You can just cook the shrimp in the same quantity of water, and then add cream after pressure cooking it done. Hope you enjoy it!
I tried this recipe over the weekend. Absoultely delicious and so easy to make. My partner absolutely loved it and went back for seconds. Thank you for sharing this flavourful recipe.
This was wonderful! I did use the chili powder option, subbed mild, canned green chili, and added a bit of extra coconut milk. After releasing pressure, I added some roasted cauliflower, peas, and thickened with some cornstarch mixed with water. This was my first time cooking shrimp in the IP and the first time using the low setting. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, and the spices were perfect.
Hi Linda – So glad to hear you enjoyed the shrimp curry. Thank you for sharing the detailed changes you made, it will be helpful to other readers.
What kind of green chili do you recommend? Serrano? Jalapeno? Bell? Looking forward to trying the recipe!
Hi Dee Dee – I typically use Thai, Birdeye or Serrano Chili Pepper in my recipes. Don’t forget to adjust to your taste. Hope you enjoy the curry!
Hi, can you use fresh shrimp? The frozen shrimp I buy is usually not without its shell
Hi Caroline – I have not tried, but I think the recipe will work well with fresh shrimp too. I would love to hear how it turns out.
Very simple & tasty recipe. i tried today & my family just loved it.
Hey Hina – So glad to hear you all enjoyed the Shrimp Curry!
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe. The coconut milk curdled after I released the pressure. What could I do to avoid that?
Hey Lekha – So sorry to hear the curry did not work as expected. Not sure why it happened. I would say you can add 1/4 cup water before pressure cooking and add the coconut milk after pressure cooking the shrimp. Hope that helps!
What do you do with the rest of the can of coconut milk?
Hey Rosemari – I like to make Coconut Rice with any leftover coconut milk. You can also refrigerate the coconut milk for a up to 2-3 days. Here is the recipe for coconut rice if you like – https://pipingpotcurry.com/pressure-cooker-coconut-rice/
You can freeze coconut milk as well. Do it in ice cube trays or some other recipe sized container.