'Daab Chingri' - Taste of a Sweet Bengalee Brawl

Hi, how have you guyz/galz been?
Today, i'm going to talk about the authentic and traditional Bengalee delicacy Daab Chingri or Tender Coconut Prawns. Mind you, this is clearly different from Chingri Malai Curry

Ingredients: (for a portion to serve four)

• Prawns - 1 Cup
• Tender Coconut - 1 Medium-sized
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Mustard Oil - 1 Tsp
• Paanch Phoron* -  1 Tsp
• Onions (slice) - 2 medium-sized
• Ginger  Paste - 1 Tsp
• Garlic Paste - 1 or, 1/2 Tsp
• Green Chillies (slit) - 4-5 nos.
• Coconut (scraped) - 1/4 Cup
• Tender Coconut Flesh (Malai) - 1/2 Cup [preferably chopped]
• Flour (Atta) Dough - as required

* Panch Phoron typically is a blend of 5 spices, consisting of fenugreek seed, nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed in equal parts

Cooking Method:

Stage I

Cut off an inch from the top of the tender coconut -- Drain the water and scoop a lid -- Pre-heat oven to 220 degree Celcius -- Add salt and turmeric to the cleaned prawns, mis and set aside -- Heat mustard oil to smoking point -- Cool slightly and add paanch phoron -- When the seeds splutter, add onions and saute' -- Add ginger & garlic pastes, green chillies and scraped coconut and continue saute' for 2 minutes -- Add one cup of water (you can also use the coconut water itself) and stir well -- Now, add the praws and keep stirring - After about a minute, add the tender coconut flesh and adjust salt.

Stage II

Now transfer the mixture into the tender coconut shell -- Cover with the lid of the coconut and seal it with the dough -- Place it in the pre-heated oven and cook for about 20 minutes -- Open the lid and serve hot...

#FactCheck

A plethora of dishes are prepared all round the globe with the subtle yet sound combination of coconut and prawns. While Daab Chingri remains to be a profound Bengali delicacy, slight twists in the preparation tale would help you arrive at the continental platter. Use cilantro sauce, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers to serve an Ecuadorian favourite Pescado Encocado, or add vermicelli, capsicum, coriander springs and red curry paste to call it Thai-Style Red Prawn Curry, or even, you may toss it with tomatoes, coriander and a fresh hit of red chilli to call it Brazilian prawn and cococut stew Moqueca. The gravy, thickened with bread and ground nuts would launch you to make Vatapa, hailing from the Bahian state of northeastern Brazil, and is typical of the Afro-Brazilian cuisine of the region. Follow the preparation procedure and then dry up the gravy in a sausepan, spice it up with a couple of turmeric leaves and lemon grass to make Prawn Rendang Minangkabau, a widely acclaimed dish in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

#FundoSpot

The name Coconut is derived from the 16th century Portuguese sailors, who thought the 3 small holes on the coconut shell resembled the human face so dubbed the fruit "coco" meaning "grinning face, grin, or grimace" The word nut was added in English later on.

Female prawns do not brood eggs but shed them into the currents where they develop independently.

Shrimps are born males and then become females as they mature, and also is true that a shrimp's heart is in its head.

Coconut Prawn Curry gets a mention amongst low-calorie but healthy and tasty foods in the book 'The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight' by Hairy Bikers (Dave myers & Si King)

#FoodQuote of the Day

"Wine is bottled poetry." - Robert Louis Stevenson

************************************************************************

Pics Courtesy: indiafoodtravelsguide.com, saffronstreaks.com, ths.gardenweb.com, itsmesangita-sangita.blogspot.in

Pistachio Firni - A Treat for the Sweet Tooth

Hi, this is mie first post on this blog. Hence, to hit it up on a sweet note let me take you through making Pistachio Firni or Indian Rice Pudding.

Ingredients:

• Rice (soaked) - 5 Tbsp
• Milk - 1 Litre
• Kesar (saffron) - a generous pinch
• Sugar - 3-4 Cups
• Green cardamom (ilaychi) powder - Half Tsp
• Pistachios (blanched, peeled & sliced) - 10-15 nos.

Cooking Method:

Drain and grind the rice to a coarse paste -- Bring milk to boil -- Add rice paste dissolved in a little cold water or cold milk -- Cook till rice is well prepared, stirring constantly -- Add kesar (saffron) and mix well - Add sugar and cardamom (elachi/ilaychi) powder and cook till sugar is completely dissolved -- Pour into China dessert-bowls or small earthenware and garnish with the pistachios -- Chill it in the refrigerator for an hour and your Firni is ready to be served.

#FactCheck

Rice puddings are found all over the world, with recipes varying even within a single country depending on the preparation methods and ingredients used. The Firni, as it's popularly known in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, can be closely represented by M'halbi in Algeria (with cinnamon and rosewater) or Roz be laban in Egypt; and by Arroz con leche in quite a few European as well as Latin American countries.

#FundoSpot

According to Buddhist Sutras, Gautama Buddha's final meal before his enlightenment was a large bowl of rice pudding, prepared for him by a girl named Sujata.

In Jane Austen's Emma, comes an appealing reference to the combination of mutton and rice pudding  - "... his two eldest boys, whose healthy, glowing faces shewed all the benefit of a country run, and seemed to ensure a quick despatch of the roast mutton and rice pudding they were hastening home for."

T.S. Eliot, in the poem "Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town," writes: "If he looks full of gloom/Then he's lunched at The Tomb/On cabbage, rice pudding, and mutton."

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams the supercomputer Deep Thought derives the existence of rice pudding from first principles. This is to counterpoint between the complexity of Deep Thought and its task of exploring the eternal verities, with simplicity of the pudding.


#FoodQuote of the Day

"You don't need a silver fork to eat good food." - Paul Prudhomme (American celebrity chef)

*********************************************************************************

Pics Courtesy - zeemag.com; applemint.com; morphyrichardsindia.com