Prawn Malaikari | Chingri Macher Malaikari | How to make Chingri Macher Malaikari | Prawn Masala

Hello Foodies,

Today’s recipe includes Prawn and the gravy is made up of  Indian spices and coconut. It is popularly known as the Chingri Macher Malaikari or Prawn Malaikari or Prawn Masala. It is one of the famous dishes in Bengali cuisine. Now, people throughout the nation eat it too. To make chingri macher malaikari, you would need the basic ingredients that would be available in most of the kitchens. Here we have used jumbo prawns, you can use any type of prawns. Prawn Malaikari can be accompanied with plain rice or fried/flavoured rice. 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes
Yield: 4-5 serving

Ingredients:

• Jumbo prawns/ Chingri ~ 8-10
  
• Coconut paste ~ ¾ cup
• Tomato ~ 1, medium
• Posto/ Poppy seed paste ~ 2 tsp
• Raisin paste ~ 1 tsp
• Ginger paste ~ 1 tsp
• Garlic paste ~ 1.5 tsp
• Fennel seeds/ saunf ~ 1 tsp
• Onion~ 1, medium, finely chopped
• Dry red chilli ~ 1
• Green chillies ~ 3 & 1 ( for garnishing) 
• Turmeric powder ~ 1 tsp ( for gravy) & 1 tsp (for marination)
• Cumin Seed ~ ¼ tsp
• Bay leaf ~ 1
• Garam masala powder ~ 1tsp + ¼ tsp
• Red Chilli powder ~ 1 tsp
• Cumin Powder ~ ½ tsp
• Sugar ~ 2 tsp
• Mustard oil ~ 3 Tbsp ( add more if required)
• Ghee ~ 1 tsp
• Water ~ as required for the gravy
• Salt to taste
• Lemon ~ ½, for garnishing

Easy steps to cook Prawn Malaikari:

• Clean the prawns very well and carefully as they are very delicate. Now, marinate the prawns with salt and turmeric powder for at least 15 minutes.

• Now, chop onion and green chillies.

• Grind and make the paste separately for the following - Coconut + fennel paste, tomato paste, poppy seeds/posto paste, raisin paste, ginger and garlic paste.

• Heat oil in a non-stick pan (preferred) and lightly fry the prawns so they turn golden in colour, as soon as the prawns turn light golden in colour remove prawns on a paper napkin. Keep them aside. 

• In the same pan, add more oil if required or continue with the remaining oil. Heat oil and add bay leaf, dry red chilli and cumin seeds, let them sizzle.

• Add onion and saute till it turns golden brown in colour.

• Add the ginger- garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off.

• Add the tomatoes and green chillies, saute for few minutes.

• Now, add all the spices - turmeric powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, and 1tsp of garam masala and sugar. Cook for few minutes.

• Now, add poppy seed and raisin paste, saute for 1 minute and then add the coconut paste. Saute for 3-4 minutes on low flame until oil separates from the mixture. If required add 1 tsp. of water in between.

• Add required water to get desired consistency and bring it to a boil.

• Finally, add the fried prawns and salt to the gravy and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 5-6 minutes on low flame till the gravy becomes thick to a medium consistency.

• Add remaining garam masala powder and ghee to  Prawn Malaikari/ Chingri Macher Malaikari and mix them properly and cover the lid and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

• Garnish with half lemon and slitted green chilli and serve with plain rice or any flavoured rice.

This is our first post about fishes and seafood. We will come up with some more mouth watering dishes soon.

Stay Tuned for more tasty and healthy homemade Indian recipes.
Happy Cooking! Enjoy!