The first time I had Daab Chingri was at a restaurant, when I was nearing 30. A friend had ordered this along with other Bengali dishes. Soon, the wait staff came with a green tender coconut and placed it on our table. I could see that the head of the tender coconut was cut and was removable. However, it was my first time and I didn’t know how to tackle it till the wait staff served it. He opened the lid with an élan like “khul ja sim sim”

Chingri or prawns at a Bengali home

My family loves prawn much more than Ilish, which is a Bengali’s love. Baba (my father), always struggled with the Ilish bones and was a non-meat eater. So, chingri was the next best option. Chingri is a delicacy at Bengali homes and it involves prior planning to welcome the fresh catch of the day from the market. It was always at the mercy of Baba’s fish monger, whether he would give good quality prawns, clean and send, ready to cook prawns at home or Ma would have to spend laborious hours in cleaning the fish. Many a times, Ma threw a fit of anger when Baba didn’t get ready prawns.

Daab Chingri with ITC Master Chef Prawns close up

Baba’s Wimbledon moment of getting the perfect chingri machh

It comes up as a memory snapshot of Baba saying, as if he has just won the Wimbledon Shunchho, aajke bhalo chingri peyechi” ( Listen I have got some great prawns today). Ma would immediately respond with “chhariye niye eshechho?” (Have you got the dressing done for them?). If the answer was negative, it was a different saga altogether. At the lunch table, we got our desired prawn dish loaded with mustard, drenched in mustard oil, or even a Simple Bati Chorchori (made with small prawns and onion and potato). We forgot how much effort Ma had put behind the dish.  

Fast Forward to 21st Century

In my home now, we have a machh katar bnoti (curved cast iron cutting blade held down by foot and endemic to Bengal, Bangladesh and some eastern part of our country) but Madhushree doesn’t know how to use it. It is occasionally used by our maid. Most of our generation wouldn’t know how to cut a fish with a Bnoti and I am sure the next generation wouldn’t even know what it looked like.

Our generation is the one that embraced frozen prawns with open arms. Like many necessary things, which are needed for a working couple and parents of two, a packet of ITC Master Chef Frozen Prawns is always omnipresent. Take it out, thaw it and make your favorite recipe. Life is easier, especially without the hassles of anything which Ma had to go through. These prawns are real juicy and freezing doesn’t take away a whisker of freshness or the plump feeling, when you bite.

Daab Chingri with ITC Master Chef Prawns with the daab

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Prawns- a brand icon for Ghotis

Mohun Bagan and East Bengal football clubs are iconic brand identities of Ghoti and Bangal (people who migrated to West Bengal after Bengal got divided). As a pure Ghoti (people originally from current west Bengal from then undivided Bengal), prawns were more of a symbol of Ghoti-ism than Ilish. A clash between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is the local derby, just like a La Liga Derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s the victory of either club which determined demand of Ilish or Chingri. A celebratory meal means either of them. Hence they vanish within no time on the day of such event.

Since prawns were a regular favourite at home here are some other prawn recipes to try out –

Chingri Malakari / Prawn Malai Curry -1
Shorshe bhapa chingri Pinterest - 2

This Chingri Makha is a perfect opening combo to start with rice.

Not much is spoken about the origin of Chingri Malaikari but its always a favourite of Bengalis 

Sorshe Bhapa Chingri has both the classic Bengali ingredients – Mustard Oil and Mustard

Daab chingri was never made at home

With so much love for prawn, it may sound surprising that Daab Chingri is not very common at Bengali homes. In fact, while growing up, I wasn’t even aware of its existence. It’s not a recipe or a dish which finds a mention in history too. According to folklore, Daab Chingri used to be cooked in zamindar houses under a wood fire. The prosperity of the zamindars meant abundance of manpower and vast agricultural lands. In summers, tender coconut water was used as a thirst quencher. The coconut cream inside was an added bonus. The troupe of servants would engage in making the wood fire, getting the tender coconut ready and hence it was easy cooking then.

Daab Chingri with ITC Masterchef Prawns

Quick easy cooking for housewives in rural areas

The food of the kings always gets replicated amongst the masses. At the lower strata of the society, the women of the house would catch small prawns in their sarees while bathing in the house pond. With limited resources and an abundance of tender coconut, they would simply do a quick mix of the prawns with mustard paste and other spices and then pour it into the tender coconut shell. This was almost a no expense dish for them, as it was farm to plate with backyard grown ingredients. Also, cooking was only in wood-fired clay-oven in those days.

Daab Chingri with ITC Master Chef Prawns with bhaat

Skeptical about using frozen prawns?

Our previous generation could never think of frozen prawns but after so much use, I can safely say that frozen prawns are a blessing. For ITC, the prawns are frozen within 15 hours of harvesting and when you open and thaw them, unless told, no one can differentiate. Baba passed 4 years ago and ever since, Ma has been lonely. Now when prawns are cooked at home, there is no usual banter. We didn’t tell her that we have used ITC frozen prawns for this Daab Chingri, she can never think of frozen prawns and a Bengali dish together. After the meal, she remembered Baba and his love for prawns. We remembered him too. Just one element has got changed. It proves that progress and convenience is not a hindrance to emotions and nostalgia.

After reading all this if I don’t share the recipe of Daab Chingri with you it will be a crime. Why not check it out for yourself ?

 

Check out the recipe of Daab Chingri in our youtube channel –

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Daab Chingri with ITC Master Chef Prawns - 1

Daab Chingri with ITC Masterchef frozen prawns

ITC Masterchef Frozen Prawns are used in making this Bengali classic dish where the prawns are cooked with mustard paste and coconut milk inside a tender coconut shell. Recipe Author: Madhushree
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Non Vegetarian
Cuisine Bengali
Servings 5 people

Ingredients
  

  • 200 gms ITC Master Chef Prawns Jumbo size frozen prawns
  • 2 tbsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 no Medium Sized Onion
  • 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp Mustard Oil
  • 1 no whole tender coconut see notes
  • Few green chilies
  • Salt To Taste

Instructions
 

  • You need defrosted, thawed prawns for these. See notes on how to thaw frozen prawns. In case you have not kept the prawns for thawing the night before, just place the frozen prawns in a bowl of water and keep for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • At the same time, soak mustard seeds in water for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • After that, in a grinder, make a paste of soaked mustard seeds (without the water), 1 green chilli and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. You have to make a fine creamy paste. Best is to not use all of the coconut milk at a time but to pour it in installments and grind. In case you feel the need, then add a little more coconut milk and grind it till you have a fine smooth paste.
  • Now we make the base of daab chingri. In a mixing bowl, take the mustard paste and add the rest 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and keep aside. This is your base to which the prawns will be added later on.
  • Once the prawns have thawed, marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, little bit of salt, turmeric powder and the juice of one onion for 10-15 mins. To get the juice of one onion, all you have to do is grind one onion and strain it.
  • Take a frying pan and heat one tsp of mustard oil. Carefully slide the prawns coated with the marinade in the frying pan and sauté for a minute on both sides. Once done, take it out of the pan and transfer it to the mixing bowl which has the prepared sauce.
  • Add the rest of the mustard oil and salt if needed. Add a couple of slit green chilies.
  • Prepare the tender coconut by cutting the top of the shell. It should be a big enough mouth for the prawns and the sauce to go in. Discard the water or rather drink it up.
  • Now transfer the prawns into the empty shell. Cover the shell with the top of the tender coconut and seal it with an aata dough.
  • There are two way of cooking this. In the oven , you have to place the tender coconut for 45 minutes to an hour at 180 degree C. In case you want to make it on the gas, take a pressure cooker and add a little bit of water. Place the tender coconut inside the pressure cooker and cover and cook for one whistle.
  • Once the steam is out, let it cool down a bit and then take it out . Open the seal and serve Daab chingri with steamed rice and some more green chilies. While taking the sauce out, try and scrape out any tender coconut inside along with the sauce.

Notes

Notes :
  1. The night prior to cooking, take the prawns out from freezer and keep them in refrigerator. When it is time to cook, the frozen prawns would have defrosted. Empty the packet of defrosted prawns in a bowl and bring it to room temperature. Drain off any excess water and the frozen prawns are ready to cook.
  2. If you do not have your cooking planned, just take the prawns out and keep them in a bowl of water at room temperature. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the frozen prawns to de frost. Drain out the water and start the cooking process
Also keep in mind :
It is best to take smaller size tender coconuts for better results. If you get a big one, it takes longer to cook. Also it is important that there is a thin tender coconut layer inside the shell. It gives a nice flavour and when you serve, scrape out some of the tender coconut along with the sauce.