"Chingri Macher Malaikari (Prawn Malai Curry)" is a signature prawn delicacy made with jumbo prawns and coconut milk. We Bengalies love this dish very much and in our special occasion like birthday or anniversary or any other special occasion we generally cook this dish along with other delicacies. But the fun thing is it's not actually originated in Bengal, rather this dish came to the Bengal by "Malaysian traders". The "Malaikary" is actually "Maloy Curry". We Bengalies are very good at changing the name for ease of pronunciation and over the time we have changed the "Maloy Curry" to "Malaikary" and made it as one of our signature dish.
Now when I am writing down the recipe of "Chingri Macher Malaikari (Prawn Malai Curry) ", I can't overlook my childhood memory associated with this dish. I am fond of any preparation with prawns since childhood. I can recall, whenever Baba (my father) used to get jumbo prawns from the market, he used to tell me, "Come and see what I have brought." and at once I would know that Baba surely brought the prawns from the market. I literally used to ran into the kitchen and would see Maa (my mother) is taking out the big jumbo prawns out of the bag and I would start dancing in joy. And that very moment I used to select the largest one from those and would tell, "Maa, may I please have the largest one?" Sometimes Maa would scold me and would tell,"No you can't always have the largest one, you should give it to your Bonu (my sister) sometimes." Now I realise that I shouldn't demand the largest one always that time. But my little sister is so considerate and sweet since then that I always ended with the largest prawn in my plate ☺️ .
Today I am sharing the recipe of "Chingri Macher Malaikari (Prawn Malai Curry)". Maa used to cook two types of malaikari, one is with onion and garlic and the other one is with no onion - no garlic. Today I am presenting you the no onion - no garlic version of this dish.
Tips:
Don't overcook the prawns. The prawn meat is very delicate. It needs hardly 2-3 minutes to cook. If you cook it for longer time, it will taste chewy.
Chingri Macher Malaikari (Prawn Malai Curry)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
150 g tiger prawns
350 ml coconut milk (medium consistency)
1 1/2 tbsp yogurt
3 tsp green chilli paste
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4th tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4th tsp garam masala powder
2-3 green chillies (optional, for garnishing)
2-3 cloves
1 cinnamon sticks
1-2 cardamoms
1-2 bay leaves
30 ml (3 tbsp) mustard oil
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp sugar (modify according your taste)
salt to taste
Recipe:
Clean and devein the prawn. I Kept the head and shell intact, you can remove if you wish.
Now take the prawns in a bowl, smear 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and a little pinch of salt. Coat it well. Keep aside.
I use readymade coconut milk of medium consistency. If u want you can extract the fresh coconut milk.
In a small bowl take the green chilli paste, ginger paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, sugar, a pinch of salt and little bit of water. Stir it well and make a paste. Set aside.
Now in a deep frying pan, heat up 1 tbsp of mustard oil over medium high heat. When the oil starts to smoke lightly, add the prawn and fry them for about a minute on each side. Don't cook longer, otherwise the prawns will be tougher. Remove them from the heat and set aside.
Now add rest of the mustard oil to the pan and heat on medium temperature.
Once the oil is hot, temper it with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves.
Next add the spice paste to the oil. Stir it well and fry the spices paste over medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes until oil start to seperate from the spices. If the spices start to stick to the bottom of the pan, splash some water and stir well.
When oils will be separated from the spices, add the whisked yogurt into the pan and stir it very well to prevent the yogurt from splitting. Cook it for 4-5 minutes until all things are well combined.
Now add the coconut milk to the pan and simmer it for couple of minutes over medium heat. Then let it boil.
When the coconut milk starts to boil, add the fried prawn to it. Check for seasoning. Add accordingly. Cover the pan and let the prawn be boiled in the gravy for 5-6 minutes (not more than that, otherwise the prawns become chewy).
Once done, sprinkle the garam masala powder and ghee. Stir lightly. Add the slitted green chillies and turn off the heat.
Give it at least 5 minutes standing time before serving. Serve it with hot steamed Basmati rice or "Basanti Pulao"
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