Bhapa Chingri – Steamed prawns with coconut and mustard paste

Well, you can keep the fish away from a Bengali but you cannot keep the Bengali away from fish……… 😉 😀 The name and sight of this fish, breathes music inside our souls 😛

Chingri or prawns, is a very sought after delicacy for Bengalis. Cooking this fish is usually denotes celebration, as the cost requires deep pockets 😉

There are several lip -smacking traditional recipes for Chingri. I chose this one – Bhapa Chingri, celebrating 66th Republic Day of India.

Presenting here, Bhapa Chingri / Steamed prawns in curry, part of Winter Platter 4.

clockwise : cauliflower -peas stir fry, fresh coriander fritters, Steamed prawns served on a bed of rice
in the bowl : lau diye bhaja moog dal

Here’s what I did……….

INGREDIENTS

10 -12 nos – jumbo prawns (deveined)

1/2 coconut – scraped

4 1/2 tsp – white mustard

1 tsp – black mustard

1 tsp – tumeric powder

2 nos – green chili

2 tbsp – mustard oil

1 tsp – sugar

salt to taste

METHOD

De-vein the prawns keeping the tails intact. Wash the prawns. Sprinkle some salt and keep aside for 10 mins.

Soak both the types of mustard seeds in warm water for 20 mins.

Grind the mustard seeds, scraped coconut and green chilies to a smooth paste with minimal water.

Add salt, sugar and mustard oil to this paste and marinate the prawns for 30 mins.

This can be steamed in various ways.

For pressure cooker steaming –

Pour or transfer this marinade in a container with lid or use foil paper for covering.

Pour around 2″ water in the cooker pan. Place the ring and place the container on it. Cook on high flame till 2 whistles. Lower the heat and cook for 6 -7 mins. Take it off fire but do not open the cooker till it cools down.

For microwave steaming –

Pour the marinated prawns in a microwave safe bowl, with an air -vent lid. Cook for 3 mins. Take it out of the microwave and give the prawns a good stir. Microwave again for 3 mins and follow the same procedure above. Prawns should turn pink and opaque. Incase it is under -cooked, follow the procedure again for 3 mins. The cooking time varies depending on the power of the microwave.

For double boiler or water bath steaming –

Place the container in a heavy bottomed pan and fill it with water coming up 1/3rd to the container sides. Cover and cook for 20 mins or till prawns are done.

For baking –

Pour the marinate in a greased tin. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cover and bake for 10 mins. Take it out, give it a stir and bake for another 2 -3 mins.

Since, I have no experience in steaming using a bamboo steamer, I cannot share my experience here. One can follow the procedure for steamed dumplings, if they wish. 🙂

Here, I have used pressure cooker for this recipe.

Serve hot with rice.

 

Happy cooking !! 🙂

Cheers !! 😀

 

 

 

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