Curried coconut shrimp and Merrydown cider review

I love cider, more than beer. I started off with the really sweet ones and now my preference is the medium or the dry ones which are perfect to glug on a hot summer afternoon. A couple of weeks back, we had some great weather and as luck would have it Merrydown Cider sent me their cider to review. It was my first time with Merrydown and my first cider this season and so was really excited. Yes, I do have seasonal drinks, in case you ask ;)

They also sent me a Great Summer Celebrations recipe booklet featuring some great ideas using cider as a key ingredient, which you can download. Since summer is just around the corner (or I'm hoping its just around the corner), I thought the cider would be a great addition to the BBQ parties and brunches. I paired it with this simple coconut shrimp starter and it was perfect. I always think fried food and cold drinks go hand in hand. My initial plan was to make a cider-batter for the shrimp, but the dry cider bottle broke in transit and so had to just do a pairing instead. I promise I'll update the post once I get hold of their dry cider, which I'm pretty sure would be my favourite out of the two. Not that the medium cider was any bad, but it was a teeny tiny bit on the sweeter side and since I've evolved from  the really sweet drinks (be it wine, cocktails or cider), the dry version would have hit the spot (or so I think). 

Anyways, coconut shrimp has made its way through to my blog before and this time I did a curried version which is not too bad, but I preferred my first version better. The marinade options are endless and if you do get your hands on some dry beer or cider, then the batter would be even better. I served the shrimp with a mayo-ketchup sauce (recipe here), but feel free to serve with just ketchup or any other hot sauce.

Serves 2 to 3 as starter

Shrimp- 250 gms, cleaned and deveined

Curry powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Plain flour- around 1/4 cup

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Pepper- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Egg- 1, small

Water- 1 to 2 tbsp

Dessicated coconut- 1/2 to 1 cup

Oil- to fry

Marinate the shrimp with curry powder and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, pepper and salt.

Add the egg and enough water to make a smooth batter. It shouldn't be too loose.

Tip in the marinated prawns into the batter and mix well to coat the prawns evenly.

Get the dessicated coconut ready in a plate

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Check that the oil is done by dropping some batter into it. If it floats to the top immediately then you are good to go.

When ready to fry, take each shrimp out of the batter, drip off any excess and roll in the dessicated coconut a couple of times to coat as evenly as possible.

Drop into the oil. 

Repeat with remaining shrimp. 

Once the prawns turn golden brown on one side (in about 2 minutes), turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes or so.

Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

You may need to fry them in a couple of batches, depending on the size of the pan.

With thanks to Merrydown Cider for sending me the samples.