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While you're stuck at home in isolation, cooking could be a great way to bond with the family. And what better than Bengali prawn recipes to do so!
While you’re stuck at home in isolation, cooking could be a great way to bond with the family. And what better than Bengali prawn recipes to do so!
A Bengali’s passion for chingri- shrimps, prawns & lobsters- is as old as the hills. The very sight of these aquatic creatures is enough to make them salivate. Prawns are prepared and consumed in myriad ways- some homely others exotic.
Owing to its easy and wide availability, chingri is a household word for all Bengalis, no matter where they are. In a quintessential Bengali household, prawns will make their appearance at all mealtimes and snack times.
If you have a prawn craving, here’s a recipe for you. Step into your kitchen and grab a medium sized bottle gourd and extract the shrimp from your freezer, it’s all the more better if they are fresh. Now get ready for a no fuss, no frill laau chingri.
Marinate the prawns in haldi and salt before sautéing them. Then sauté the laau pieces in mustard oil, pre-tempered bay leaves, dried whole red chillies, cumin powder and turmeric. Add the shrimps, slit green chillies and stir gently till all the ingredients blend. Then, add some water, sugar and salt (per your taste) and simmer with the lid on. Once you turn off the heat after five minutes, add some ghee and garam masala. Voila! Laau chingri is ready to go!
On a personal note- one of my sisters-in-law is a wonderful chef. She suggests adding chopped onions to the oil at the early stages and winding it up with chopped coriander for garnishing. I tried it out and trust me, it was fantastic!
Chingri maachher malaikari, personally is the crowning glory of the entire gamut of prawn dishes. The amalgamation of the spices with rich coconut milk is enough to fill everyone with a sense of euphoria.
And if you’re ready to slog a little, try mocha chingri- shrimp with chopped banana blossoms. Enriched with onion-ginger-ghee-garam masala, very few can resist sampling this. The mere aroma is enough to whet your appetite.
However, it is the daab chingri is a glowing example of the chef’s romance with prawns. The taste of shrimp in a rich creamy coconut milk is out of the world!
Bengalis cannot do without their snacks, either. And their chingri cutlet is an immensely popular snack and side dish with a number of condiments! For this, a fresh water jumbo galda or its saline water counterpart bagda are used.
Though the prices of these astronomical during the Pujo season, luxuries and life pleasures come at a cost, don’t they?
Picture credits: Pixabay
Am a trained and experienced features writer with 30 plus years of experience .My favourite subjects are women's issues, food travel, art,culture ,literature et all.Am a true feminist at heart. An iconoclast read more...
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