Managing the lobsters and love for Chingri 

I have a problem in managing lobsters. Baba never used to have chicken or mutton. An early age visit to the slaughter house made him lose all his desire for eating mutton. So it was always fish for him and like most ghotis (people with their roots from West Bengal), chingri machh was a delicacy for him. When I say chingri machh, it’s prawn loosely but shrimps at a macro level.

I have grown up listening to all about Bagda and galda prawn while accompanying him to the market, the difference being the former being Tiger prawns and the latter, scampi. Remember de-veining the shrimps was a big task and most of the times, the seller had to separate the heads and de-vein the fish. Daab chingri was where medium sized prawns were cooked and presented inside a tender coconut shell, so the coconut cream also added up to the flavour; while for malaikari, the size of the prawns were considerably larger.  My mamas (maternal uncles) used to be prawn addicts and other than the fish, sometimes they would buy heads separately to make curies, since all the flavour was in the heads.

Do you the history of Malaikari ? This recipe of Chingri Malaikari is worth checking out (Link)

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The prawns that re used in restaurants

Most of the restaurants in general, use medium or large sized prawns which invloves de-shelling the fish,carefully scooping out the flesh and enjoying it. Although the lobsters taste way better and there is a sense of mission accomplished when you leave your plate victorious with only the shells of the lobsters lying around but my personal feeling toward this crustacean is that it is too attention seeking in a public place, which is why I have always felt uncomfortable about eating it. I hold people and food lovers in high esteem who effortlessly glide through their prawns and that too, with the help of a knife and fork. It almost looks like a veteran cardiac surgeon at work.

An Authentic dish from the kitchen of Rabindranath Tagore . Kumro Chingri . Recipe here (link)

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Forrest Gump and Shrimps

Just realised, one of our favourite on screen characters Forrest (Forrest Gump) could finally become a successful shrimp businessman and how he kept his promise for his mate Bubba. Remember what Bubba had said about shrimps?

“Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.”

Our favourite Chingri Machh Dishes as listed here 

What were my favourite childhood chingri dishes? Ma used to make a rich mustard paste gravy with green chilies. As she used to serve the food, unlike the other dishes, this was easy to distribute as she used to count the shrimp pieces and distribute equally. However, by the end, either she or me would end up asking for more from Baba. Shrimps floating in the rich mustard gravy and then the counting process and getting shared across plates – was one of the high moments of Family Bonding.

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Mustard and Prawns steamed together . Thats Shorshe Bhapa Chingri for you. (Link)

Prawn and onion with green chilies and coconut goes on to make Chingri Makha. Delicious. (Link)

A seasonal recipe but worth trying out. Shapla Chingri. Recipe here. (Link)

 

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Chingri Macher Bati Chorchori as used to be made by Ma 

Ma also used to make chingri macher bati chorchori. I am yet to learn why the name bati chorchori? Chorchori is almost like a freestyle of cooking in Bengali cuisine. In this process, almost all vegetables can be added, a dash of mustard oil and slow-cooked. Perhaps the name bati chorchori comes from the fact that it gets slow-cooked in a bowl (bati). I assume the roots lie in the past socio-economic conditions.  At that time, cooking was slow and time-consuming and large families and multiple kids to manage, the housewives used to resort to this as an easy solution. It has always been my favourite for the strong and pungent smell of mustard oil, steamed but not fried slices of onions in between and the shrimps getting an elevation for the steaming process.

Chingri macher bati chorchori can be had with rice and roti both, however, rice is more preferred.

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Easy way to make Chingri Macher Bati Chorchori-1
Easy way to make Chingri Macher Bati Chorchori-2
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Chingri macher baati chorchori

A very quick and easy recipe using prawns of whichever size you prefer and then cooking it in a bowl or a tiffin box inside a pressure cooker. Other than prawns, one can use a variety of vegetables to be cooked this way too.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Non Vegetarian
Cuisine Bengali
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 300 gms medium sized prawns de veined and de shelled
  • 1 no large onion finely sliced
  • 1 no large tomato finely chopped
  • 1 no large potato finely sliced like potato sticks
  • 3 tbsp Mustard Oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Mustard Paste
  • 1/2 tsp whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 tsp Sugar
  • handful of corander leaved chopped
  • salt for seasoning
  • 4 nos Green Chilli

Instructions
 

  • First of all you need a pressure cooker and a tiffin box which fits in the pressure cooker. If not a tiffin box, then a bowl with a proper lid will do.
  • Make sure than you really make fine slices of the onions and the potatoes, especially the potatoes since they take longer to cook than the prawns and you wouldn't want raw potatoes.
  • Now, take the bowl which you will place inside the pressure cooker and add all the ingredients.
  • Add a tbsp of water and and mix everything nicely. Make sure there is enough seasoning. Slit the green chilies if you want an additional kick.
  • Fill the pressure cooker with 2 -3 cups of water. Now cover your bowl or tiffin box and place inside the pressure cooker. Note that the level of the water should be little less than half of the tiffin box or bowl.
  • Close the lid of the pressure cooker and let it cook for 10 minutes or 2 -3 whistles.
  • In case you don't want to use a pressure cooker, then you can also simply place the covered bowl inside a wok filled with water. Cover the entire wok and let it cook on low flame for about 20 minutes.
  • Serve it hot with some steamed rice.

Notes

  1. Use of mustard paste is optional. I like the pungency of mustard and it goes brilliantly with the tender prawns
  2. You can also use shrimps with this recipe.