Chingri macher malai curry, also known as chingri malaikari, is a fantastic fish curry dish that is quite famous among Bengalis. It is popular for its unique taste, texture, and flavor. In this dish, huge tiger prawns (Golda chingri) are cooked in coconut milk along with onion, tomato, and a few flavorful Bengali spices. This delicious Bengali fish stew is commonly served at major events such as marriage reception parties (biye bari), annaprashan, and so on. Aside from that, the prawn malai curry dish has taken a prominent position on the menus of renowned Bengali restaurants all over the world. It is typically served over steamed basmati rice, although it can also be paired with Bengali mishti pulao.
Bengali food is notable for its numerous outstanding dishes due to its incomparable taste, texture, flavor, and cooking ethic. However, everyone has a special place in their hearts for Bengali fish curries and sweets. Chingri malai curry is a renowned Bengali recipe that should not be overlooked. Despite its roots outside of Bengal, this has become an essential component of Bengali cuisine.
Chingri Malai Curry: What is it?
Chingri malai curry is a traditional prawn dish made with large prawns and coconut milk. Regarding the name of this East Indian Cuisine, some people believe that the part “chingri” came from prawn aka “shrimp” and “malai curry” means “creamy curry” here. Some others believe that the term “malai” has derived from the word “Malay.” The term “Malay” is derived from the Malaysian people. This coconut-flavored prawn curry originated in Malaysia. Malaysian merchants came in east India for commerce, and as a result of cultural interaction, the recipe became integrated into the Bengali cuisine as ‘chingri macher malai curry,’ or ‘chingri malaikari.’
The reason behind chingri malai curry’s popularity:
- Its exceptional taste, texture, and flavor are the key reasons for its appeal
- This Chingri macher malai curry is quick and easy to cook
- It immediately goes through preparation
- It is a really comfortable dish made with few seasoning
- It is a dish that children like
- It is a flexible recipe that goes well with rice and even flatbreads
Fish and Bengalis have an inextricable bond. For us, no celebration is complete without fish preparations. Bangladesh is surrounded by rivers. They have long been a great supplier of freshwater fish. The availability of fish is the primary reason for the popularity of fish cuisines in these places. This is the key to Bengali cuisine’s vast array of fish curries.
However, while I worked in Bengaluru and lived in a PG, it was completely forbidden to prepare non-veg. So I used to go to a well-known Bengali restaurant and get chingri malai curry several times to satiate my appetite.
It’s really straightforward and simple to make chingri macher malai curry. It calls for extremely ordinary components that are widely accessible in any Bengali kitchen cupboard. It cooks quickly yet tastes fantastic. It is a true Bengali delicacy that captures the soul of Bengal. The nicest aspect about this recipe is that it can be refrigerated for a couple of days and still tastes the same.
It always makes me nostalgic to talk about Chingri Malai Curry. As a Bengali, I grew up eating this delectable Bengali prawn dish on several important occasions such as biye bari, pohela boishakh, Durga puja, and even during festivities like birthdays and anniversaries.
The prawn malai curry recipe is a simple dish that is ideal for any party or family gathering. If you have canned coconut milk on hand, this may be a perfect dish for surprising your visitors and receiving plenty of compliments on your culinary talents.
My mother taught me how to make chingri malaikari, and she learned it from my grandmother. So, you can say this is a 100-year-old recipe. I made chingri macher malai curry for the very first time after my marriage, while I was living in Pune. I contacted my mother and received all of the directions over the phone. Everyone adored the preparation and lavished compliments on my cooking. I’ve prepared this well-known dish more than 20 times so far and have gotten rather good at it.
Chingri Malai Kari, or Prawn Malay Curry, is one of my childhood favorites. This is a version of the Prawn Curry that my mother cooks practically every time there is a special occasion. And you now have a recipe from our family! If you follow each step of this recipe exactly, you will obtain a prawn malai curry with exquisite flavor and consistency that tastes even better than in restaurants.
It goes well with a hot meal of your favorite rice. Unless we’re making Biryanis or Mughal-style foods, Bangladeshis rarely consume Basmati rice. We usually consume short to medium-grain rice of Bangladeshi origin. Calrose, Jasmine, and Parboiled rice are comparable choices, but Basmati and brown rice work just fine too!
Hope you will like this recipe. So try this recipe at your home and don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends and family.
Ingredients
- 1 kg medium-sized prawns
- 50 gm vegetable oil
- 10 gm ghee
- 200 gm onion paste
- 20 gm ginger paste
- 4 gm turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 75 gm yogurt
- 6 pcs green chilies
- 500 gm coconut milk (1 can)
- 24 gm salt
- 36 gm sugar
- ½ tsp bengali garam masala
Instructions
- Coat prawns with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp turmeric powder, and set aside.
- In a grinder jar, add onions and blitz them to a fine paste.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Once hot, lower the prawns one by one and fry them in batches for about 45 seconds on each side. The longer you cook prawns the tougher they’ll become, so remove them from the heat immediately and set them aside.
- Now add ghee to the residual oil. Temper with dried red chilies, bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.
- Add onion paste along with sugar, and fry for about 8 minutes until the onions are brown.
- Add ginger paste and fry for another 3–4 minutes, after which add turmeric and red chili powder. Stir intermittently so that the spices don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. When they do, add a splash of coconut milk to loosen the mixture up and help fry it. Also add three slit green chilies and salt now.
- Once the oil starts separating from the spices, beat the yogurt until it is lump free and add it to the pan. Drop the heat and stir vigorously to prevent the yogurt from splitting. Cook it for 3–4 minutes.
- Add half of the coconut milk and simmer for about 2 minutes before adding the rest of coconut milk. Once it comes to a boil, add the fried prawns.
- Allow the prawns to bubble in the curry, covered, for no more than 5 minutes.
- Finish off with garam masala before serving.
Notes
- Method: Shell and devein the prawns, leaving the flavorful head intact. You may remove the stomach of the prawn, located near its head. I prefer to leave the shells on, but you may peel them off if you like.
- Notes: Golda chingri, or freshwater giant prawns, are found in West Bengal. If you can't get tiger prawns in your local market, you can substitute them.
