Bhapa Chingri

Prawns steamed in a sauce of fresh coconut n mustard oil

From the heart of Bengal to the out shores of the world

           The magic starts when you cook them with love, then the smell carries the magic with her, she captivates your heart, taking you on a journey of anticipation. Anticipation-it has such great power, so much it can be enjoyed on its own. There is a saying here which says that we eat half by the smell at first, then the eyes, the rest half on your tongue. The first half is built upon anticipation. Floating through the air the smell takes me high with it. Later when I open the box she catches my eye with that look, oh! And that big hug of the smell pushes me to the pick of my own anticipation. So often there comes the moment when the reality bite fails to reach the level of anticipation it has built, won’t you agree? Gladly just the opposite becomes true with these steamed prawns! As I taste her, her aroma, taste engulfs me, making me smile, making me want to eat it more n more, never stop, I wanna absorb this taste like a sponge but my senses reach saturation but still I’m only hoping for more, it reaches as if a sense of appreciation for the abstract!

                                          Here I engraved my feelings for the steamed prawns in fresh coconut. This is my all time favorite dish with prawns- hands down, hats off, bow kinda feeling. I have tasted numerous preparations with prawns, shrimps in many places and often one beats another if there is any sense of competition in them but then there is this “Bhapa Chingri” and no one can touch her. In its simplicity, in the looks, in the get-you-high smell and the insatiable taste-she will win you over and over.

                                                                                                                      It all starts with a few ingredients, in my version they are even fewer- sometimes less is more. And there is almost no big cooking at all. Now for the fresh coconut I have to say if we are using dry coconut it will give a completely different flavor, fresh coconut and dry coconut will bring very different flavors in the final result so if you feel like cooking this authentic version go for fresh coconut. And then when you have a fresh coconut in hand, break it into 2 halves, then with a coconut grater, grate the flesh softly and you will see white soft heaps of fresh coconut makes a little mountain as you grate, pick up some with your hands and eat that, juicy, succulent, tender…u la la! Now we need to make an almost smooth paste of it, we can do it in a heavy stone mortar n pestle or in a flat stone grinder or the modern food blender. Now this is the only tough work. For someone who is new to this it will seem quite an amount of work but then everything new seems tough, isn't it?

In the many versions of Bhapa Chingri across the land, there happens the variation of the ingredients. In my version there is use of freshly grated coconut, green chilies, mustard oil, a touch of cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, sugar, salt, bay leaf, water along with the prawns. In the other versions we will find the use of mustard paste- black mustard seeds made into a paste-known as sarson paste/sorshe paste, poppy seeds paste-known as Posto/Khashkhas. While some like to add a bit of yogurt, some likes to add an onion or crushed black pepper. One of the things that always stay the same is the use of fresh coconut and mustard oil. The interesting thing about the fresh coconut is that when the prawns are getting steamed in that all the flavors of the prawns dissolve into the flavor of the coconut milk inside the coconut, the mustard oil with the hint of pungent warmth dissolves into that- a beautiful marriage.

                                     My memories of it is connected to the smell, the vibrant yellow hue of the dish may remind you of the happy sun or just make you smile while you close your eyes and be nosy. Hahah! While I was small boy I used to dip my fingers into the sauce and lick them, I didn't want any sauce to be left at all, so often I would add some rice to the pot where it has been cooked and coat the rice with anything that remained in there, I was so mad about it. Eat it with white rice and it won’t fail to amaze you, this is the heavenly combination.

                                Somehow I am inclined to call this recipe simple, but then I think it is not too simple, I mean this recipe I’m presenting is simple, but if someone goes for the poppy seed paste and mustard paste, it adds to the work. But then there is something about this dish that spells simple. Apart from all of that you must try it; if you love seafood this will bring peace to your mind and something more. Why don’t you explore that side to see what it brings to you? Let this be an adventure.

           It’s time for the recipe now. Bon appétit.

For The Recipe: you will need

Prawns medium to big- 250 gm

Freshly grated coconut -1/2 of medium coconut

Green chilies -2

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Mustard oil- 5 tbsp

Salt to taste

Sugar a pinch

Bay leaf- 1, you can skip it also

Cumin powder- ¼ tsp, about 2 pinches

Coriander powder- ¼ tsp, about 2 pinches

1.       Begin by DE-veining the prawns, you take a sharp knife and along the middle of the back of the prawn held in your hand make a narrow slit along the length. Insert the tip of the knife gently in that slit and take out any tiny thread like vein that comes out, pull that out of the prawn, discard it. Do the same with the rest of the prawns. Some people tend to have a problem in their stomach if the prawns are big and if you don’t DE-vain them while for some people it doesn't make any difference. Now sprinkle ½ tsp of turmeric powder on them, rub them in that and leave them aside.

2.       Grate the coconut with a coconut grater, then in heavy stone mortar n pestle or in a flat stone mortar n pestle or in a blender grind the grated coconut with 1 green chili, let it become almost a smooth paste, add some water to help the process either in the blender or mortar n pestle.

3.       Now we are ready to put it all together, in the deep container where you are going to steam them, add the prawns, the coconut paste, pinch of sugar, salt to taste, rest of the turmeric powder, 1 green chili chopped, bay leaf, cumin n coriander powder and the mustard oil. Mix everything well, add 1-1 ½ cup of water, mix well, taste to see the salt, adjust.

4.       Now in a broad pan bring some water to the boil or if you are using a steamer add the water. When the water comes to a rapid boil, close the container with the prawns in them with a lid, then put a stand on the boiling water, then place the container on the stand, cover the whole pan with a lid. On a high flame at first give 5 minutes, then you can reduce the flame to low and give this 10 more minutes, at the last 5 minutes you can increase the flame again to medium high or high. Make sure there is always water in the pan.

5.       After 15 minutes put the flame off, take out the container from the steamer and give it 5 minutes to cool off a bit. Then carefully n slowly open the lid. You know what! This is the moment, full of things I can’t describe. From here on begins your journey with Bhapa Chingri! Indulge.