Chingri Malai Curry, placed 31st on TasteAtlas top 100 seafood dishes, is perhaps the most iconic prawn dish from Bengal, but there are other unique ones too, each with its distinct flavour profile
“Machhey bhatey Bangali” (It’s fish and rice that the Bengali thrives on) goes the old adage. It is interesting, and somewhat amusing, to note that it’s not ‘rice’ but ‘fish’ that comes first in the saying, possibly indicating which one commands the greater respect on the Bengali platter, and in Bengali life. Hence, the placement of a classic from the Bengali kitchen, the Chingri Machher Malaikari (Prawn Malai Curry), among the top 50 seafood dishes worldwide by TasteAtlas — a popular travel and food guide platform — in early July came as a befitting tribute to the reverence Bengalis have shown to everything aquatic in their culinary preferences for centuries.
After all, chingri — a loose term that covers both crustaceans such as prawns and shrimps — is also machh (fish), the varieties identified by prefixes such as kucho (for shrimp), golda (for jumbo prawn), bagda (for tiger prawn), or chapra (white prawn), among others. It was somewhat astonishing to not find any other Indian seafood dish on the list — not even among the top 100. Unlike the coastal regions of India, Bengal survives primarily on freshwater fish, including those bred in ponds and tanks, as well as those caught from rivers. Even ‘seafood’ such as prawns and shrimps have their freshwater cousins, and Bengal devours both with equal relish.
A classic with foreign origins
The Chingri Malai Curry, which has been placed 31st on the TasteAtlas Top 100 Seafood Dishes in the world, is perhaps the most iconic prawn dish from the Bengali kitchen. In fact, those with tighter budgets even cook it with shrimps. Today, it may be a Bengali classic, but the dish itself it said to have foreign origins, notably from what is today Malaysia. The name itself raises questions because it has nothing to do with malai (cream). It is said that the term ‘malai’ is actually a derivative of the word ‘Malay’ and what was once ‘Malay curry’ has turned into ‘malaikari’ over the centuries.
Whether the theory is true or not is a different story altogether, but the foreign origins of Chingri Malaikari cannot be doubted whatsoever. That’s because its primary ingredient (barring chingri, of course) is hardly used in Bengali cuisine. It’s coconut milk that makes a malaikari, and except this particular delicacy, the traditional Bengali kitchen hardly uses that ingredient, though coconut, whether grated or diced, is widely used in several recipes, especially crustaceans.
The kochupata chingri, made with colocasia leaves, is a popular delicacy in Bengali households, savoured equally by the rich and the poor for its easy availability and inexpensiveness | Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
To be fair, the malaikari does bear some similarities with the Malaysian kari udang (prawn curry). Both use coconut milk, but then so do several coastal Indian prawn dishes, such as those from the Malabar and Konkan coasts. Whatever its origins, the Chingri Malaikari is no doubt a product of the old sea trade, Bengali khalashis or seamen having brought it home from distant shores.
Want to cook Chingri Malaikari? Here’s a recipe
The beauty of the malaikari lies in its simplicity. It does not take hours to prepare; nor does it take a mindboggling list of ingredients. It is widely made at home, traditionally served at weddings and other family functions, especially in well-off households, and is now a fixture on the menu card of every Bengali-cuisine restaurant worth its chingri machh. The malaikari is very much doable at home, though. Here is one of the simplest recipes:
Ingredients
Prawn/shrimp: 500 gram
Coconut milk: 250 ml (packaged or fresh)
Onion: 1, finely chopped or paste
Ginger paste: 1 heaped teaspoon
Turmeric powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Red chili powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Bengali garam masala, whole: Cardamom 3-4, cloves 4-5, cinnamon stick 1-2
Sugar: 1 teaspoon
Salt: To taste
Oil: For cooking
Optional: Bay leaf, garlic paste, yogurt, ghee
The process
Wash and devein the prawns/shrimps. Marinade with turmeric powder and salt for about 15 minutes. Heat oil in a pan and fry these lightly, until cooked (remember, overcooking prawns and shrimps makes them chewy).
Remove the prawns/shrimps from the pan and temper the same oil with whole Bengali garam masala (bay leaf is optional). Then, gradually add onion, ginger paste (garlic is optional), turmeric powder, and red chili powder (malaikari should not be spicy).
Once the spices are sauteed and they release oil, add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the cooked prawns/shrimps, add salt and let it simmer for about five minutes. Add some water if it gets too dry. You can add yogurt if you want a creamier gravy, but it is strictly optional.
Finally, add some sugar (malaikari will have a hint of sweetness) and remove once it is mixed properly. You can add some powdered Bengali garam masala on top and some ghee but those are optional. Yes, it’s as simple as that.
Prawns in the Bengali kitchen
The Chingri Malaikari may take the royal position on the Bengali platter, but it is not the only prawn/shrimp dish to have been born in their kitchen. Interestingly, most Bengali prawn/shrimp dishes use mustard and coconut liberally, and they are often cooked with vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflower, and bottle gourd, among others. Here are five prawn or shrimp dishes other than the malaikari that have held a pride of place on the Bengali table for centuries.
Kochupata die chingri / kochur shak die chingri
These are usually made with shrimps. Kochupata or colocasia leaves as well as kochur shak or taro stems are popular delicacies in Bengali households, savoured equally by the rich and the poor for their easy availability and inexpensiveness. Like several Bengali preparations, these dishes have their vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions. While the vegetarian version is cooked only with grated coconut, shrimps are added in the non-veg version.
For kochupata die chingri, a paste is made with grated coconut, mustard seeds, poppy seeds (optional), and green chillies. The colocasia leaves are boiled separately before being cooked with the paste and shrimps, and finally drizzled with mustard oil. In the case of taro stems, these are boiled and then cooked simply with ginger paste, grated coconut, green chillies, and shrimps. The latter has a hint of sweetness like the malaikari. Ingredients can vary from kitchen to kitchen. Among the popular Kolkata restaurants serving Bengali cuisine, Kasturi and Ghare Baire serve the kachupata die chingri though the other one is not easily available in eateries.
Mocha Chingri
Similar to the above two, mocha or banana blossoms are also cooked in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian styles, with grated coconut and shrimps, respectively. Banana blossoms are chopped and boiled to be softened. It is then cooked with ghee, Bengali garam masala, bay leaf, cumin powder, red chilli powder, grated coconut, and fried shrimps. Among the popular high-end restaurants in Kolkata, Aaheli and 6 Ballygunge Place, and regular ones such as Kasturi, Ghare Baire, and Saptapadi serve mocha chingri and so do several other eateries serving Bengali food. It is widely cooked at homes too, just like the above two dishes.
Lau ghonto, a dish made with bottle gourd, can be cooked in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian styles, like several other Bengali dishes | Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Bhapa Chingri and Chingri Paturi
This is another simplest of dishes that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. The ingredients are somewhat similar to the kochupata die chingri. Cleaned and deveined prawns or shrimps are mixed with a paste of mustard seeds and grated coconut, yogurt, turmeric powder, slit green chillies, salt and mustard oil and steamed.
The same dish, when the ingredients are steamed in a banana leaf, becomes a paturi. The popular chain Oh! Calcutta serves a Chingri Paturi, while 6 Ballygunge Place serves Bhapa Chingri. Bhojohori Manna serves a similar prawn dish with ‘narkel shorshe’ (coconut and mustard), and it is also commonly found in other Bengali-cuisine restaurants.
Chingri machher bati chochchori
This is slightly different from the other dishes on this list, which use coconut and mustard liberally. The chingri bati chachchari is essentially a dry, fried dish made with potatoes and other vegetables (optional), chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder, salt, and, of course, prawns or shrimps.
The tempering is done with kalo jeere (nigella seeds) or panch phoron (Bengali five spices, including cumin seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek, and randhuni or wild celery seeds). This is one of the rarer dishes and barring 6 Ballygunge Place, not too many serve it, though some smaller eateries may offer it.
Daab Chingri
And finally, we come to the toast of Bengali restaurants — the Daab Chingri or prawns cooked in tender coconut. On the face of it, it looks like the simplest of dishes, but it was originally meant for the woodfire, and as we moved on to gas ovens and then induction cooktops, the Daab Chingri also vanished from Bengali kitchens — until restaurants such as 6 Ballygunge Place and Oh! Calcutta revived it.
Prawns or shrimps along with onions, green chillies, grated coconut, mustard seed paste, turmeric powder, salt, and mustard oil are poured into a tender coconut, its water removed. The top of the tender coconut is then sealed with flour dough and it is baked on woodfire for an hour. Now, many people make it in the oven though the smoky woodfire flavour can hardly be replicated.
More than the Malaikari, it is the Daab Chingri that is now the most sought-after prawn dish in Bengali restaurants, with mostly all of them, including Oh! Calcutta, 6 Ballygunge Place, Aaheli, Kasturi, Bhojohori Manna, Saptapadi, and everyone in between, rustling up this once-rustic dish with aplomb.
