…durga puja special recipes…
Mahasaptami te phulkopir dum, daab chingri ar kaju-kismis pulao
Sometimes in late 90’s on a Navami afternoon we went to Aheli at Peerless Inn for a lavish buffet spread to satiate our quench for authentic Bengali cuisine.The theme was perfect, Bengali cuisine, dressed in traditional Bengali attire with live Rabindrasangeet, it was there that I was introduced to daab chingri – the headless prawns with their tails intact, bathed in rich creamy and velvety gravy, looks gorgeous when served in the half-open daabs. It was awesome and simply beautiful! The taste and aroma still lingers in my memory.
I am not sure whether it is a traditional Bengali cuisine but cooking inside a tender coconut is a century old tradition. It was quiet unassuming for the part of daab that it lend such a magical touch to the dish. Daab chingri has become a signature dish of Bengali cuisine whereby prawns cooked (slowly cooked) inside the green or tender coconut acquiring the rich taste and flavor of tender coconut or daab. It is subtly spiced and has white creamy velvety texture. Try this dish with kaju-kismis pulao.
Daab chingri or prawns cooked in tender coconut
Ingredients:
Daab (Un riped or Green Coconut) with a layer of kernel in it) – 1 Big
Coconut water or Daab water
Prawns (peeled and de-veined)- 500 grams
Mustard Oil – 1 cup
Mustard paste (optional) – 1tsp
Onion paste – 4 tbsp
Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Ginger paste – 2 tsp
Green chillies (fine paste) – 5 to 6
Poppy seeds paste – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder (optional) – 2 tsp
Tender coconut flesh paste (malai or soft kernel): ½ cup
Melon seed paste: 3 tbsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Whole wheat flour dough as required
Method to prepare:
Cut off an inch from the top of the tender coconut and keep the cut out part aside to act as a lid.. Make sure the green coconut is full of kernel. Scoop out some of the soft kernel and make a paste of it. Pour the coconut water in a separate bowl.
Sprinkle some salt over the prawns and keep it for half an hour.
Heat some mustard oil in a pan and add onion paste and saute. Add ginger-garlic paste, poppy seeds paste, green chilli paste and keep stirring. Next add the melon seed paste and tender coconut flesh. Adjust the salt and add sugar. Add the coconut water and stir in well . Finally add the prawns and coat them well with the mix.
Transfer the mixture into tender coconut shell. Cover with the lid and seal with dough. Place in the preheated oven at 250 F and cook for about twenty minutes. Open the lid and serve the hot daab chingri with kaju-kismis pulao.
To prepare the kaju-kismis pulao
Kaju kismis pulao
For pulao we Bengali usually prefers govindobhog or radhunipagol rice but any flavored rice like basmati or dubraj will do. Soak around 1 cup of rice in water for at least 15-20 minutes. Drain the water completely and keep it in colander to make it almost moisture free.
In a heavy bottom pan heat some ghee and temper it with black cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms and cloves. Add half cup of kaju (cashew nut) and kismis (raisins) and saute till they changes the color. Add the rice and saute for few minutes. Add the very finely chopped ginger, sugar (it is actually a sweet pulao, so we usually add 1-2 tbsp of sugar) and salt to taste. Mix well and add 1 cup water. Cover it well (steam should not escape) and cook in low flame for exactly 15 minutes or till done. Grains should not be sticky and water must have dried completely leaving behind the fragrant grains of rice. Grate some nutmeg into it and add a teaspoon of ghee before serving. Serve the hot kaju-kismis pulao with daab chingri or anything of your choice.
If you like this recipe then please consider sharing it and do not forget to send me your feedbacks.
5 Comments
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Subhadra Guha
May 15, 2012 at 3:34 amHi
The Dab Chingri recipe looks really good. I would like to try it. Since I don’t have an oven is there any way I could do it in a convection microwave oven? Could you please tell me the settings to be made in that case?
Regards
Subhadra
saffronstreaks
May 18, 2012 at 6:33 pmHi Subhadra
Thanks for liking the recipe and for your visit. In oven itself it takes long enough to cook the dab/ green coconut properly, shrimps will not cooked otherwise. I am afraid you can not replicate it in the microwave. Shrimps become chewy if cooked in microwave.
The alternate way is to cook the dab chingri in slow cooking dum style (dekchi sealed with dough) and serve it inside the dab shell. Dont be disheartend, I have adopted both the ways, and as far as taste is concerned, there are no major difference as such.
But you must obtain a green dab, scooped out the malai, blend it in mixer with coconut milk and use it in the recipe.
Hope that helps, and if you have tried the recipe we would love to hear the results.
Happy cooking
Sukanya @saffronstreaks
Subhadra Guha
May 18, 2012 at 11:26 pmHi Sukanya,
Thanks for your reply. I think I’ll try out the dum style. I’ll surely let you know the results.
Subhadra
durga puja 2011 – fest and feast
August 29, 2012 at 1:27 am[…] 1) Daab chingri and kaju-kismis pulao 2) Chingri malai curry 3) Bhetki paturi 4) Ilish aam kasundi […]