Shapla Chingri the love for prawn continues
A typical Bengali recipe which uses mustard paste and water lily stems. It can be made with or without prawns. However, the use of prawns enhances the flavour of the dish.
Ingredients
- 800 gms shapla or water lily stems 10-12 water lily stems
- 2 tbsp Black Mustard Seeds
- 4 tbsp Mustard Oil and a little extra for drizzling in the end
- 250 gms medium or small sized prawns deshelled and deviened
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 2-4 green chilies
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- salt as required
Instructions
- Wash the prawns and marinade with little bit of salt and turmeric powder and keep aside.
- Soak the mustard seeds in water for fifteen minutes. After that, gdiscard the water and grind it into a smooth paste with 1 tsp of mustard oil, 1 green chilli and a little bit of water. Strain the paste thoroughly using a little more water and keep aside.
- Prepping the stems is time consuming and requires some patience. Firstly, cut and discard the flowers. Well, not exactly discard them but use them elsewhere in the house or even in making pakodas out of the petals.
- From each stem, pull out the thin outer strips (more like a skin attached to the stem).
- Then wash the stems thoroughly and drain them of any water, since they release a lot of water on cooking.
- Cut the stems in 1 to 1/2 inch length.
- In a saucepan, take 1/2 a litre of water with a tsp of salt and boil it. Once the water has boiled, add the stems and continue simmering for about 3 - 4 minutes. Then strain and keep the soft stems aside.
- In a frying pan or kadai, take 1 tbsp of mustard oil and when it becomes hot, add the prawns and shallow fry them. It takes about 2 -3 minutes and using a spatula, take the prawns out and keep aside.
- In the same pan, add 1 more tbsp of mustard oil. When it starts to smoke, reduce the heat and add nigella seeds and one split green chili.
- Let the seeds splutter and then add the shapla and increase the temp. Add a little bit of salt and give it a stir. Then cover and lower the temperature and let it cook for 5 to 8 minutes until the shapla stems have become soft.
- Remove the cover and add the mustard paste and continue cooking. The stems will release water, so keep the heat on high. Add the prawns and gently stir once.
- Add sugar and check the salt.
- Finally when the water has evaporated, add more split green chilies and drizzle some mustard oil. Stir everything together and cook for 5 - 8 minutes more. till it has become mushy but the stems are still whole.
- Turn off the heat and serve it with some steamed rice.