This recipe dates back to many centuries. West Bengal, a state in the eastern part of India and the birthplace of this exotic recipe, has been endowed with huge vegetation of coconut trees. Prawns again are a staple diet of the Bengalis who literally live a life of “fish & rice”.
In the earlier days, this used to be slow-cooked inside an earthen oven with amber glowing coals. I have taken the help of modern day oven for making this. The unique combination of sweet coconut cream along with the pungency of mustard seeds is what gives the dish an out-of-the-world flavor & taste.
INGREDIENTS
Tender coconut – 1 each for 7-8 large size prawns (I used two of them as the number of prawns were 16)
Mustard seeds – 2 Tbsp, ground along with 2 green chilies into a smooth paste
Onion – 1 medium, cut into thin slices
Paach Phoron – Bengali 5 spices (1/2 tsp each of fenugreek, fennel, cumin, onion seeds & mustard seeds)
Mustard oil – 1 tsp each for marination and tempering of Paach Phoron and 2 Tbsp for frying of prawns
Wheat flour – 2 Tbsp for making a dough
Salt & turmeric powder - as per taste
RECIPE
Pre-heat the oven for 410 F or 200 C
Heat 1 tsp of mustard oil in a pan and put the Paach Phoron in that. Temper/Fry for just a minute and keep it aside.
Cut a hole of approximately 2.5” dia on the tender coconut, drain the water and scrape the coconut cream out of it with the help of a spoon. Don’t throw away the lid. We will need this to seal the coconut during baking.
Take all the coconut cream and along with at least 1 cup of coconut water (you can use more water in case you want a runny gravy) and make a rich & smooth paste.
Marinate the prawns with salt & turmeric for 5 mins. Heat oil in a pan and fry the prawns for around 2-3 minutes, flipping sides, till the sides become red. Switch off the flame and put the fried prawns in a bowl.
Mix the prawns with mustard paste, 1 tsp of mustard oil, coconut cream-water paste, onion slices and the tempered paach phoron. Stuff the tender coconut with the mixed prawns. Put 1 green chili slit into 2 parts on top. Put the lid back and seal the edges with flour dough.
Bake in 200C or 410F for around 45-50 mins. Take it out of the oven, rest for 5 mins and crack open the seal. Delicious sweet & pungent Daab Chingri is ready to be eaten with steamed rice.
Recipe Shared by: Santanu De ( member of What's cooking Oman )