Chingri Macher Malaikari / Prawn Malaikari

I know boys are a little more obsessed about sports and politics, but I think the man with whom I am living with is testing my nerves and one day I might smash his phone and laptop. Yes, in this case I am really having some anger management issues. First is the football. Its okay, that whenever the t.v is on the sports channel is running. But the sudden screams give me such creeps that sometime I have to sip up a bottle of water to stay calm. Then comes the phone. The headphone is always attached to it and in the phone, the youtube app is always running, buffering the various lectures given by our honorable MPs of India in Loksabha. With two ears locked up in this way, sometimes he misses out the entire conversation that I speak without realizing that he is completely engaged on such a vital issue.:( He has to know when and where our PM is traveling, on which issues he is working....and he is not satisfied with watching them only, sometimes he makes me watch them too!!!! So now a days, I have stopped bothering myself over these incidents and when I have to talk I simply unplug the headphone and do the talking. Simple...isn't it???So, on such an occasion, I blabbered about prawns one day.

And he remembered!!!:) A few days ago when I was whipping up my mango custard, my husband called me and asked if I was willing to purchase some Golda Chingri from our local fish seller. Of course I want to, I replied back. I was terribly excited, because last time when we purchased from there we enquired about prawns and he said that because of this heavy rains, fish supply has gone down steeply, and even the ordinary fishes are now rarely available. I wanted to rush then and there and buy those prawns. But it was raining outside and I had a mild fever. So I resisted all my urge and waited for the evening to come.

Coconut milk was already in the fridge and I also had fresh coconut, which I purchased last week to make Sundal. So everything went accordingly and this time, without making a mess finally I made a perfect Chingri Macher Malaikari. As soon as the coconut milk started bubbling, I knew I have hit the jackpot and the house filled up with the beautiful aroma, which reminded me of my mother, the way she hurried back and forth inside our tiny kitchen in our Kolkata home and I peeked from a corner to have a glimpse of that beautiful curry. I always wanted to have some fried prawns...but ma used to say no, they are strictly for the curry. The prawns were not always big but the curry tasted the same every time, and I used have a bowl full, of that curry to sip up in the end.
Most of the people I have seen uses only coconut milk for making Chingri Malaikari, but I like to add some grated coconut into it because it gives the dish a very beautiful crunch and body. Its really optional, but do try....may be you could like it.

Chingri Macher Malaikari / Prawn Malaikari
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 500gm large prawns  (I got 8 pieces of golda chingri) - de-veined (you can keep the heads. Its really recommended, but I kept mine to make chorchori with them)
• 2 medium onions - make a smooth using a blender
• 1 medium potato - cubed (optional)
• 1 cup (250ml) full fat coconut milk
• 2-3 tbsp grated fresh coconut
• 1 tbsp sugar (or adjust according to your taste, I like my malaikari a little on the sweeter note)
• 3-4 green cardamom
• 3 cloves
• 1 medium stick of cinnamon
• 1 medium bay leaf
• 4-5 garlic cloves - minced / paste
• 1 and 1/2 inch stick of ginger - paste
• 3 tsp turmeric powder
• 1-2 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tbsp mustard oil
• salt

Method:

• First rub 1 tsp turmeric powder and salt over the prawns and cubed potatoes. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai and shallow fry the prawns and potatoes, until they become golden. Take them out of the pan and keep aside.
• Add some oil to the kadai if required and put the whole garam masalas - cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and green cardamom. 
• As the oil becomes fragrant add in the onion paste. Sauté till it become light brown.
• Add in the ginger - garlic paste and cook till the raw flavor of onion and garlic is gone. Finally it will be like a thick paste and all the waters will be evaporated.
• The paste will start to stick to the pan shortly so add a little water to them and mix in the turmeric powder and red chili powder. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the raw flavor of the spices go away.
• Add in the grated coconut, sauté for 1-2 minutes and then pour in the coconut milk.
• As they start to bubble up, add in the already fried prawns and cubed potatoes. Add water if you want a thinner gravy. Put cover and let the prawns and potatoes cook completely. It will take around 7-8 minutes. Stir in between to prevent any kind of sticking to the pan.
• Cook until the prawns and potatoes are cooked. Taste and adjust salt and sugar accordingly.
• If the gravy thickens too much in this process do add water to prevent it from burning.
• Simmer until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. 
• Finally add the rest of the mustard oil, mix and put off the flame. Serve hot with steamed rice.