Today I gave a shot at a dish indigenous to Bengal, the recipe of which is slowly fading away from cookbooks. 'Chingri Mach Bata' or Bengali style prawn chutney is a traditional dish and has its roots in the very heart and soul of Bengali cuisine.
In fact, it has been an integral part of Bengali cuisine for generations. Less common these days, it is mostly sourced only in the interiors of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Do give this dish a try by following an easy step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this traditional rustic fare.
This dish is made of mashing together small prawns, garlic, green chilies and onion. However, I added some coconut and coriander roots too.
To get some pungent kick out of this bata / chutney, some raw mustard oil can be added to the end product. This is mostly consumed as a side dish with hot steamed rice.
In Bangladesh, this dish is popularly know as 'Bhorta' and uses 'Kucho Chingri' (small prawns) traditionally. but can also be made with regular size ones.
This recipe has been on my bucket list for a while now. I have only heard about it through family tales and cookery shows, but never tried it out for myself.
It is little know to the present generation. So to revive a lost culinary art, I though I'd give this recipe a try. It is probably my Bengali instincts talking, but in the end this dish was out of this world.
- 1 cup prawns, deveined, washed & rinsed
- 2 tbsp. fresh grated coconut
- 2 tbsp. mustard oil
- 2 green chilies
- 1 dry red chili
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp. coriander roots, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds (kalonji)
- 1/4 tsp. asafoetida
- 1 onion, chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 tsp. mustard oil to garnish
Marinate the prawns with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder for 10 minutes. Heat a pan and dry roast the coconut till light golden in colour. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil in the same pan and saute the dry red chili, green chili and garlic till light brown. Add the marinated prawns and stir fry till light brown in colour. Keep aside to cool.
Then grind along with the roasted coconut, coriander stem and little water to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
Heat remaining oil and temper with nigella seeds and asafoetida. Add the onion and stir fry till light brown.
Now add the ground paste, salt to taste and turmeric powder. Saute on a low flame till it turns dry and all the moisture has evaporated.
When done, switch off the flame and add coriander leaves. Serve with hot steamed rice and a drizzle of some raw mustard oil for that ultimate pungent kick.
Marinate prawns with a pinch of salt & turmeric powder for 10 min.
Heat a pan & dry roast coconut till light golden in colour. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil in the same pan & saute dry red chili, green chili & garlic till
light brown. Add marinated prawns & saute till light brown. Keep aside to cool.
Then grind with roasted coconut, coriander stem & little water to a smooth
paste. Keep aside.
Heat remaining oil & temper with nigella seeds & asafoetida. Add onion &
stir fry till light brown.
Add the ground paste, salt to taste & turmeric powder.
Sauté on a low flame till it turns dry & all the moisture has evaporated.
When done, switch off the flame & add coriander leaves.
Serve with hot steamed rice & a drizzle of some mustard oil.
No comments:
Post a Comment