This is another Bengali recipe of shrimp or prawns delicately flavored and cooked in a coconut mustard broth with poppyseeds. Poppy seeds or ‘posto’ is a very special ingredient in Bengali cuisine. It comes up again and again in many recipes, both vegetarian and non vegetarian. The nuttiness of the ground poppyseeds adds another dimension to the dish cooked in steam. You could cook it in a pan too but the steaming method with the raw shrimp makes the dish really tasty. If you’ve never tried it before, I urge you to give it a go @sarchakra
COOK TIME: 10 mins
PREP TIME: 15 mins
YIELDS: Serves or makes 3
Ingredients
- Shrimp/ Prawns 8 oz
- Classic Yellow Mustard 1 tbsp
- Yogurt 2 tbsp
- Turmeric powder 1 tbsp
- Red chili powder 1 tbsp
- Coconut cream 4 tbsp
- Coconut paste 1 tbsp
- Poppyseed paste 2 tbsp
- Green cardamom powder 1 tsp
- Cinnamon stick 1 inch
- Cumin powder 1 tsp
- Salt
- Sugar 1 tbsp
- Mustard oil 2 tbsp
- Water 3 cups
Method
- Grind the coconut into a smooth paste.
- Mix all the ingredients in a steel container. Close the lid tightly.
- Heat water in a large pan that has a cover. Reduce the heat to medium low when the water starts boiling.
- Lower the covered container into the gently simmering water. Put a lid on the pan. Let it simmer for 10 mins.
- Turn the heat off. Keep it covered for 10-15 mins before opening the container. Serve with plain basmati rice.
Notes
Coconut cream can be substituted with canned unsweetened coconut milk.
Use freshly grated or frozen coconut to make the coconut paste.
sarchakra 