Time to spice things up with this stunning spicy air fryer shrimp this Valentine’s day! If you are planning to enjoy this day of love in-house with your loved ones, these spicy shrimps are your best bet!
You will love your life once you taste this mind-bogglingly tasty spicy air fryer shrimp! If you haven’t made any reservations for your Valentine’s dinner and are struggling with last minute arrangements, I would urge you to stop!
If you are someone who loves to cook and feed your loved ones, then this spicy air fryer shrimp will prove to be a showstopper dish on your Valentine’s dinner table at home!
Trust me, these are so good that you will make these on repeat even after Valentine’s! Plus, being cooked in air fryer, you hardly have to do anything on your own!
By the time you start relaxing on your couch after marinating the shrimps and putting them inside the air fryer, they will be done! Perfect win-win recipe, isn’t it?
What is Spicy Air Fryer Shrimp?
It is not a secret anymore that shrimps are my favorite among all foods combined! So it was pretty obvious that once I started integrating air fryer into my daily cooking, I would develop a few delicious recipes with shrimps!
Hence comes this spicy air fryer shrimp as the very first air fryer shrimp recipe and more will follow! These shrimps are marinated in a curd (a.k.a yogurt) based mixture infused with flavorful Indian spiced and aromatics. Plus one secret ingredient!
Shrimps do not demand longer marination time. You can marinate them for just 15 minutes and cook them in your air fryer. I skewered the shrimps in bamboo sticks as they look fancy when you serve them on your dinner table.
This spicy air fryer shrimp is also my favorite because it does not impact my healthy eating routine. These shrimps require very less oil but turn out super juicy and tender thanks to the yogurt based marinade.
All in all, this is that “Perfect 10” recipe for your Valentine’s this year! Serve it up with some fresh salad on the side and spend that quality time with your loved ones that you have been deprioritizing for quite some time due to your hectic work schedule!
Ingredients for spicy air fryer shrimp
Shrimp: I used about 30 medium to large sized shrimps for my air fryer shrimp recipe which served about 3-4 adults. You can use any variety of shrimps that’s locally available in your place. This marinate will be good enough for about 450 to 500 grams or 1 pound of peeled shrimps.
Curd/Yogurt: This spicy air fryer shrimp tastes delicious because of the curd based marinate which not only keeps the shrimps juicy & tender, but also helps the flavors from all spices to penetrate inside the shrimps.
Make sure to use either hung curd or Greek yogurt.
Oil: A tad bit of oil is required to bind the spices and also to allow them to release their flavors while being air fried. You can use mustard oil if you are habituated with it or any other oil of your choice e.g. olive oil, canola oil.
Garlic & Ginger powder: You need these two classic aromatics to convert your spicy air fryer shrimp from ordinary to fantastic! Try to use powdered version instead of paste as they would mix with other powdered spices evenly.
This also would terminate the risk of having burnt ginger or garlic bits in your shrimps that may occur if you use ginger & garlic paste.
Kashmiri chilli powder: To get that spicy kick and that vibrant red color in your spicy air fryer shrimps, you would need a generous amount of Kashmiri chilli powder! It is not too hot, but gives any food a stunning makeover just like this one!
Turmeric powder: I gave my spicy air fryer shrimp a golden makeover using this quintessential Indian spice that is turmeric! We Indians are so habituated using turmeric in our dishes, that any dish with this golden hue appeals to us many times more than the ones without!
Italian seasoning: This is my secret ingredient for my spicy air fryer shrimp! Italian seasoning is a blessing in disguise! When I am not sure what to flavor my food with, this delicious spice mix comes into rescue! It goes perfectly well with shrimps, chicken, pasta or any food you can imagine!
Seasoning: Finally, you need salt & pepper to round up all the spices and seasonings for your spicy air fryer shrimp!
How to make spicy air fryer shrimp?
Step 1: Peel and devein the shrimps. You can retain the tails for a better visual representation. Wash them thoroughly and let all the water drain out.
Step 2: In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients of the marinade – curd, oil, ginger & garlic powder, turmeric powder, Italian seasoning and salt & pepper. Give a very good mix using a fork or a wire whisk making sure that there is no lump in the curd and you get a smooth mixture.
Step 3: Once your marinating mixture is ready, drop the washed shrimps into it. Give a good mix so that each shrimp is coated evenly with the marinate on both sides.
Step 4: Now take 1 bamboo skewer at a time and thread the shrimps one by one. I threaded 3 shrimps per skewer.
Pro tip: Make sure the length of the skewer is such that it fits inside your air fryer conveniently. If it’s too long, you can try breaking them from the blunt end to shorten.
Step 5: Preheat your air fryer at 190 C / 375 F as per your air fryer model setting. Brush the bottom of the basket with oil.
Step 6: Place the threaded shrimp skewers in a single layer inside the fryer basket once the air fryer is preheated. Air fry them for 8 minutes turning them once halfway through.
Step 7: Your spicy air fryer shrimp is ready! Serve with your favorite dip on the side along with some fresh salad and enjoy!
More delicious shrimp recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Garlic Shrimp Cauliflower Rice | One Pot Healthy Meal for Weightloss
- Shrimp Mango Salad with Avocado and Lime Dressing
- Shrimp Stir Fry with Vegetables | Easy Weeknight Shrimp Dinner Recipe
- Shrimps - 30, large or medium (about 2 pounds unpeeled)
- Hung curd/Greek yogurt - 3 tbsp
- Mustard/Olive oil - 2 tbsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tbsp
- Garlic powder - ½ tsp
- Ginger powder - ¼ tsp
- Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
- Italian seasoning - 1 & ½ tsp
- Salt - 1 & ½ tsp
- Pepper powder - ½ tsp
- Peel and devein the shrimps. You can retain the tails for a better visual representation. Wash them thoroughly and let all the water drain out.
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients of the marinade - curd, oil, ginger & garlic powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder, Italian seasoning and salt & pepper. Give a very good mix using a fork or a wire whisk making sure that there is no lump in the curd and you get a smooth mixture.
- Once your marinating mixture is ready, drop the washed shrimps into it. Give a good mix so that each shrimp is coated evenly with the marinate on both sides.
- Now take 1 bamboo skewer at a time and thread the shrimps one by one. I threaded 3 shrimps per skewer.
- Preheat your air fryer at 190 C / 375 F as per your air fryer model setting. Brush the bottom of the basket with oil.
- Place the threaded shrimp skewers in a single layer inside the fryer basket once the air fryer is preheated. Air fry them for 8 minutes turning them once halfway through.
- Your spicy air fryer shrimp is ready! Serve with your favorite dip on the side along with some fresh salad and enjoy!
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