Daab Chingri Recipe

India’s cultural vibrancy reflects beautifully in its food as well. A fact that deliciously transforms a simple prawn curry to a Malabari prawn curry in Kerala, Xacuti in Goa, and the mind blowing Dab Chingri in West Bengal. As the name suggests, Daab Chingri (daab, coconut; chingri, prawn) is a shrimp dish with a rich coconut and mustard gravy.

The preparation oozes signature Bengali flavours, given the presence of certain ingredients like panch phoron (fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard, and fennel seeds), mustard paste, and the quintessential mustard oil. Best served with boiled rice, the gravy is mildly spiced with some green chilli pasta, but you can amp up or turn down the spice according to your palate. Cooking the dish is an interesting task in itself. The method involves stuffing all the ingredients inside a coconut and then baking it or cooking it in a pressure cooker. And this gives the curry its coconut flavour. Follow the recipe below to make a delicious daab chingri at home!

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Daab Chingri Recipe

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Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Bengal

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Servings

people MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

• 750 gram shrimps deshelled & deveined
• 1 large daab (tender coconut)
• 1 small Onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp green chilli paste
• 2 tbsp mustard paste
• 1/4 tsp panch phoron seeds
• 3 tbsp mustard oil
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• wheat dough/aluminium foil to seal the coconut

Course Main Dish Cuisine Bengal Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 1 hour Servings people MetricUS Imperial Ingredients 750 gram shrimps deshelled & deveined 1 large daab (tender coconut) 1 small Onion 2 garlic cloves 1/2 tsp green chilli paste 2 tbsp mustard paste 1/4 tsp panch phoron seeds 3 tbsp mustard oil 1 tsp Turmeric powder salt to taste wheat dough/aluminium foil to seal the coconut

Votes: 2 Rating: 2 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

1. Scrape coconut flesh properly and make a smooth paste using the coconut-water. Cut coconut-bottom and make it flat so that it can stand inside an oven or a pressure cooker. Cut its head in a slightly bigger round shape, it will help while stuffing. Keep the lid.

For the shrimp

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add panch phoron masala and let it crackle.
2. Now add onion and garlic, fry.
3. Add cooked spices and oil in a large mixing bowl.
4. Now add the mustard paste, chilli paste, turmeric, salt, coconut paste and coconut water and mix well.
5. Then add shrimps to this paste and mix well.
6. Stuff the shrimp mixture inside coconut and seal its lid with dough.
7. Preheat the oven to 220 degree and cook for about 45minutes.
8. Alternatively, you can put the coconut inside pressure cooker, add some water to the pressure cooker, and cook over medium heat for three whistles. Let the vapour get released completely. Serve.