Chingri Malaikari (Head-on Shrimps in a coconut sauce)

An absolute Bengali delight!

My kids love this dish. The heads of shrimps add a different taste to this dish. If you do not prefer the heads you can use headless shrimps. However, you will not get the distinct taste, this dish is famous for. Bengalis are famous for eating fish heads, believe me, they taste delicious :) 

You may have heard from many people that this is very time consuming to make. It is not true, you can make it in a go. It just takes time to clean the shrimps. You can clean them in advance and freeze the shrimps and make the dish some other day.









All you need

Head-on large size shrimps (bigger the better) - 2 lbs
1 big onion - make a paste
2-3 cloves Garlic
1 inch Ginger - make a paste of ginger and garlic together
1 can Coconut milk
1/4 cup shredded dried coconut or fresh grated coconut
2 small Bay leaves
4 small green Cardomoms
1 small Cinnamon
2-3 Cloves
Salt
Turmeric
1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Radhuni Brand Garam Masala Powder
Few drops Red Food Color
Preferably Mustard Oil (or any other oil)



Method

• Clean the shrimps. Cut off all whiskers and front legs. Cut off the tip of the mouth. Remove the shell, leave one shell just below the head and one above the tail. This would keep the head and tail on while stirring and cooking. Make a slit (not too deep) in the back and take out the black thread with the tip of a knife. Wash them.

• Soak dried grated coconut in coconut milk. If using fresh coconut, no need to do this step.


• Rub some salt and turmeric and lightly fry them in hot oil. Keep them aside.


• In the same oil or add some more oil if needed, add the whole garam masala (bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves).


• Add onion paste and fry it. Add ginger-garlic paste fry for two more minutes.

• Add salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Add the coconut milk and grated coconut. Add food color (about 4-5 drops until the gravy turns deep orange).

• Add Radhuni garam masala. Mix well and then add the lightly fried shrimps.

• Add a little water, bring it to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook for 8 minutes.


• Reduce the gravy. Done!