Chingri macher malai curry: Prawns cooked in spiced coconut milk

Whoever read my post about  Poela Boishakh will remember me mentioning about this recipe. I went ga-ga and wrote “recipes in the next post”, but ironically didn’t post it. Why? Simply, because I forgot. Hands down. I forget. I do. But anyway, better late than never.

This is a traditional Bengali, aromatic, succulent, etc, etc dish which is very common to any Bengali occasion; dont forget to count “Bangla Strike”- Bengal is infested with ‘isms’ which calls for a lot of offs and I so want to do a post on Bengal and Bengalis, public holidays and weekends. We just need an excuse to make this. Really.

Take a look at the ingredients

 Procedure

Rub prawns with salt and turmeric and set aside for an hour. Meanwhile, paste the onion, 2-3 garlic cloves and about an inch length of ginger together. Keep a cup of Coconut milk ready.
In a wok put 2 tbsp of oil (use any oil that do not have a scent of its own) and fry the prawns until a light golden brown. Strain and keep aside.

In the same oil, crackle bray leaf, cloves, cinnamon & cardamom for a minute. When the “garam masala” is fragrant, add the ginger-garlic-onion paste and stir. Cook this for about 4-5 minutes and add turmeric, cayenne pepper powder, salt and sugar. Let it cook till the masala leaves oil. When you see it leaving oil from sides add coconut milk.  Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes before you put the prawns in it.

Put two green chillies and cook for another 6-8 minutes.

Set & Sorted!