In a smallish (okay, medium) sized skillet toast the fennel and coriander seeds until they’re fragrant and starting to crackle ever so quietly.

Add in the unsalted peanuts and give everything a stir.  When the peanuts are nicely toasted as well, take the pan off the heat.

Meanwhile, peel your ginger and slice the inch long unit of root into two equal pieces.

In a small food processor pulse two cloves of garlic (save the other two) with the jalapeno and one chunk of ginger until everything is in mighty small pieces.  In terms of the jalapeno, I left the seeds and ribs in because I like a bit of heat.  If you’re a milder soft soul, feel free to scoop the seeds and ribs out, or only use half of a jalapeno.

When the peanut mixture has cooled, add this to the minced savories along with your bunch of cilantro – stems and all.

Pulse that until it is combined and the peanuts are well chopped, but not peanut butter. A bit of texture goes a long way.  Sprinkle lightly with salt, if you so desire…and I did.

I should mention that if you’re going to serve this with rice (basmati, of course) which I would recommend, you probably want to put it on now so that it has adequate time to cook.

Peel the shrimp but leave the tails intact.  Butterfly the shrimp by carefully cutting down the back where the vein is/was (if it’s still there, remove it) without cutting all the way through.  Open the shrimp up so that it sits flat, like a book.  In a lightly oiled/sprayed casserole dish lay the shrimp down and press about 1 – 2 tbsp of filling into each one, tamping down as you go to mold it into a slightly firm mound.  The peanut mixture will not hold together on it’s own, but there’s enough moisture from the other ingredients that it can be packed and pressed into the shrimp and will keep it’s shape.

Heat the oven to 350F and let the shrimp sit as you start on the sauce.

Back to your reserved garlic and ginger!!  Finely mince the garlic and chop the ginger up into very thin matchsticks.

Sautee the garlic and ginger in 1 tbsp of olive oil until they’re fragrant, and then add the turmeric and cumin.  Stir this around so that the spices are able to lightly toast in the oil as they latch onto the garlic and ginger.

Pour in the unsweetened light coconut milk and bring this up to an easy boil on medium heat, stirring regularly.  At this point, tuck the shrimp in the oven.  They will need to cook for 10 – 20 minutes, depending on the size and the heat of your oven.  Take them out as soon as the tails are pink and they’re opaque all the way through.  In the time that it take the shrimp to cook, the sauce should reduce by about half.  Taste it, and adjust the salt as necessary.

Serve the shrimp on a bed of basmati rice with the sauce drizzled all around and garnish liberally with the green onion.