Chingri Kofta ( Grandma special)
1.Shell, de-vein and wash the prawns. DON’T FORGET TO TAKE OUT THE SHELL OF THE SHRIMP!! We need half pound prawns/shrimps for this recipe. Now blend the prawns into a smooth paste.We don’t need any water while grinding it.
2. Add little ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, little turmeric powder and 1 beaten egg. Unlike others We are not going to fry the balls before we add them in the curry. The tenderness of the prawns will be vanished if u fry them before adding them in curry. So keep it in the fridge for 15 mins that would help us to shape them.
3. Heat oil in a wok.Add bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon. Fry a little then add one medium sized finely chopped onion..When the onion is almost golden brown, add 3 tbl spoon onion paste, 1 tbl spoon garlic paste, 2 tea spoon ginger paste, turmeric and chili powder,a little coriander powder and salt to taste.
4.Keep stirring all the time and adding water little by little to keep the spices from scorching. This iS what we call “koshano” in Bangla. This ” Koshano” is very important in every Bengali or Indian Style curries.
5.Now add a little water and cook a little while then add 1 cup medium thick coconut milk ( I used coconut milk powder available in the store to make the milk ) and 1 cup of regular liquid milk ( My grandma used to cook only in coconut milk , but I improvised a little). Here comes the fun part!!!!!!! Make round balls from the prawn and add into the gravy.Cover the lid.
6. Cook it for at least 10-15 minutes at medium low flame or until the oil separates and the prawn balls r cooked.
7. Roast whole cumin, poppy seed ( posto), cardamom (elach)together. You can microwave them for 30 second and grind them into a fine powder.Add this powder and green chillies before u turn off the stove.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Khadiza's Kitchen 