Indian style shrimp with fresh mint chutney along side sauteed cauliflower

Wow, was this dish delish.  If you love Indian flavors of Cumin, Koriander (Cilantro), Garam Masala and lots of lime, then you will love these shrimp.  Marinated in yogurt and wine and other spices, these shrimp are very tender when grilled.  When topped with fresh mint chutney the flavors just pop.  The cauliflower and zucchini were sauteed with cumin seeds, fresh coconut, garlic, dry roasted peanuts, and lime juice.   It made a fabulous side dish complimenting the shrimp.   It's great with corn chips or smeared on grilled chicken,etc.  I think you will love the flavors I put together in this.  Not too overpowering with mint or Cilantro, just the perfect amounts.  A very low calorie dish surprisingly, but surely not lacking flavor at all!  I hope you try it.


What you need for the shrimp marinade:
~16-20 Uncooked (raw) fresh large shrimp peeled, and deveined but keep tail on. (Tail on keeps it from curling during cooking)
~1/4 Plain yogurt (don't use fat free)
~Juice of 2 Limes
~1/4 Cup white wine (any white will do, just not cooking wine.)
~10 cloves fresh garlic chopped very small
~2 Tsp ground Cumin
~2 Tsp Garam Masala
~2 Tbsp Cilantro chopped
~1 Chili pepper seeded, chopped and sauteed in a hot pan with a little oil until the skin looks blistered.(about 30 seconds if you pan is screaming hot)  The reason for doing this is so the true flavor of the pepper will come out during the marinading process.
~4 10" Bamboo skewers or metal skewers.  If using the bamboo skewerks, they must be soaked in water for 30 minutes prior to grilling to keep them from burning during the grill process.  I also added some lime juice and a little salt to the water which flavored the sticks and made that woody scent go away and gave a touch of flavor to shrimp during the cooking process.  We surely didn't eat the sticks. =)


Let's get to work:
1) Place all in a bowl and mix until all shrimp are coated. Should look like below picture.

2) Pour into a ziplock bag and let marinate at least 6 hours. 
3) When ready for grilling, place about 4 shrimp to each soaked skewer.
4) Brush grill with a little oil and keep on medium fire.  Grill shrimp 4 minutes per side until just pink.  You don't want to overcook these or else they can get rubbery tasting.
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What you need for the Mint Chutney:
~Blender or Food Processor
~1 Cup Fresh Cilantro roughly cut
~3/4 Cup fresh Mint leaves roughly cut
~Juice of 2 Limes
~1 Packet of Splenda or 2 Tsp Sugar
~6 Cherry tomatoes seeded
~1 Medium onion roughly chopped
~1 Shallot
~1 Tsp Salt
~1 Fresh Serrano, Thai or Cayenne Chili seeded and chopped. (or you can leave the seeds in, but I prefer to take them out)


Let's get to work:
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulverize until blended.  Then enjoy!  Best Mint Chutney!! =)


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What you need for the Cauliflower:
~1 Large head of Cauliflower cut into flowerettes
~1 Medium Zucchini cubed
~Juice of half a lime
~3 Tbsp dry roasted/salted peanuts
~1 Tbsp Peanut butter
~1/4 Cup fresh shredded coconut (if using the bag kind, don't get sweetened)
~3 Tbsp Fresh chopped Cilantro
~1 1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds (not powder)
~1 Bulb of garlic (around 12 cloves) garlic chopped
~1 Tsp salt
~3 Tbsp oil


Let's get to work: 
1) Heat oil in a wok or large enough pan to hold  the veggies.  Once heated, add garlic and Cumin seeds, and peanuts and peanut butter and stir around until garlic turns a nice golden brown (yum yum yum).
2) Add Cauliflower and zucchini and keep stirring around every few minutes until the veggies are tender.  I don't use water here because I found that the water takes away some of the intense flavors, so I don't do that anymore.  When Cauliflower is fork tender, add in the coconut and cilantro and cook about 2 minutes allowing the aroma of the Coconut and Cilantro to escape into the dish.
3) It's done!!  =)


**You can do this dish on the grill and it will cook faster, however, you would need a grill pan that doesn't have holes in it so the garlic and peanuts and cumin seeds don't fall through. Like this http://www.amazon.com/Weber-Style-6435-Professional-Grade-Grill/dp/B000WEIIOE  I'm never in a rush when in the kitchen, so I like to do it in a large pan on the stove top.