Grilled Sour Cream–Marinated Shrimp

• Recipe by Suvir Saran

At an Indian restaurant, this dish might be cooked in a tandoor oven, but Suvir Saran loves to char the shrimp on the grill. Instead of marinating shrimp in homemade yogurt that’s been drained for hours, as is traditional, Saran opts for sour cream—it’s not only faster, but he thinks it’s tastier.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup sour cream
2. 6 garlic cloves, minced
3. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4. 1 teaspoon garam masala
5. 1 teaspoon cracked white and black peppercorns
6. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
7. 1 teaspoon ground ginger
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
9. 16 jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
10. Salt
11. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
12. 1/2 teaspoon chat masala, for sprinkling (See Note)
13. Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

1. In a large, shallow dish, whisk the sour cream with the garlic, cumin seeds, garam masala, peppercorns, ground cumin, ginger and turmeric. Add the shrimp and coat thoroughly with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
2. Light a grill. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and thread onto skewers; season with salt. Oil the grates and grill over high heat until almost cooked through, 2 minutes per side. Brush the shrimp with the butter and grill until glazed and just cooked through. Sprinkle the shrimp with the chat masala and serve with lime wedges.

Notes

Chat masala is a spicy, tangy Indian spice blend. It is available at Indian markets and at kalustyans.com.