P
Indian
Chingri Malaikari — Prawns in Coconut Milk (চিংড়ি মালাইকারি)
Chingri malaikari (চিংড়ি মালাইকারি) is the royal Bengali prawn dish: large tiger prawns or freshwater king prawns (বাগদা চিংড়ি, Penaeus monodon) cooked in a sweetly aromatic coconut milk gravy with whole spices (bay leaf, cardamom, clove, cinnamon), and notably very little chilli heat. The 'malai' in the name does not refer to cream but to Malay (মালয়) — the dish is believed to have arrived via the Malay trading connection in Calcutta's historical spice and maritime trade. The coconut milk must be added in two stages: first extract (গাঢ় নারকেল দুধ, thick) added at the start for richness; second extract (পাতলা নারকেল দুধ, thin) for cooking liquid.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
800 g
tiger prawns or freshwater king prawns (বাগদা চিংড়ি, Penaeus monodon)
shell-on, heads intact if possible, deveined
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
½ tsp
ground turmeric
divided use
Your own market
2 tbsp
mustard oil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the gravy
2
bay leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
green cardamom pods
lightly bruised
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
cloves
Your own market
1
cinnamon stick
approximately 5 cm
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 medium
onion
finely ground to a paste
Your own market
1 tsp
1 tsp
green chilli
slit; quantity kept restrained per tradition
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
250 ml
thin coconut milk (পাতলা নারকেল দুধ, second extract)
fresh if possible: second pressing of grated coconut through muslin
Your own market
200 ml
thick coconut milk (গাঢ় নারকেল দুধ, first extract)
fresh if possible: first pressing of grated coconut through muslin
Your own market
1 tsp
sugar
Your own market
1 pinch
garam masala
added off the heat
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
to taste
salt
Your own market
To serve
as required
gobindobhog or basmati rice
freshly cooked, fragrant
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Rub the prawns with half the turmeric and a pinch of salt, so the turmeric begins to season and faintly firm the flesh before the pan is even lit. Set a wide, heavy pan over high heat and bring the mustard oil to smoking point, then reduce to medium-high — smoking the oil briefly drives off its raw pungency, leaving behind a mellow, nutty heat that carries the whole dish. Add the prawns in a single layer and fry, turning once, for no more than 90 seconds per side; the surface is sealed when it shows a pale gold crust and releases cleanly from the pan, with the edges opaque but the centre still translucent.
From the canon — Turmeric (हल्दी, haldi — Curcuma longa) is the most universally used spice in Indian cooking: the yellow-orange rhizome whose primary active compound (curcum… Turmeric — Fresh vs Dried in Indian Cooking (हल्दी) →
2
In the same pan and oil, add the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and fry over medium heat until the spices swell and the cardamom skins blister, so the fat draws out their volatile oils and the kitchen fills with a sweet, woody fragrance. This infused oil is the aromatic base into which everything else will cook, so give it a full minute rather than rushing to the next step.
3
Add the onion paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it is dry and pale golden — the raw, sharp smell gives way to something mellow and sweet, and the paste no longer sticks in wet clumps, which tells you the moisture has cooked out and the onion will not thin the gravy later. Add the ginger paste and the remaining turmeric and cook for a further minute until the fat begins to separate at the edges of the paste, a sign that the aromatics are cooked through and no longer taste raw.
4
Pour in the thin coconut milk (second extract) and add the slit green chilli and sugar, then stir to combine. This is where the dish lives or dies: the thin extract enters first because it can withstand a longer simmer without breaking, whereas adding the thick extract at this stage would subject it to extended heat, splitting the fat from the solids and producing a greasy, broken gravy rather than a creamy one. Bring the pan to a gentle simmer, uncovered.
5
Return the partly cooked prawns to the pan and simmer uncovered over low-medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them once so the residual heat finishes the centres without the exterior turning rubbery. The prawns are done when they are uniformly pink and just firm to a light press — they should yield with the slightest resistance, not spring back hard.
6
Reduce the heat to its lowest setting, pour in the thick coconut milk (first extract) and stir gently in one direction, so the rich cream folds into the gravy smoothly rather than separating where it meets the hotter liquid. Do not cover the pan from this point — trapped steam raises the temperature unevenly and curdles the coconut milk. Warm through for 1 to 2 minutes until the gravy is uniformly pale gold and glossy and coats the back of a spoon in a light, creamy veil without any visible oily pooling.
7
Remove from the heat, add a pinch of garam masala and taste for salt. The garam masala goes in off the heat so its fragrance stays bright and top-noted rather than cooking away into the background, consistent with the dish's restrained spice character. Serve immediately over gobindobhog or basmati rice.
From the canon — Garam masala is the crown jewel of the Indian spice pantry — a blend whose name translates simply as 'warm spice mix,' understating completely what it does t… Garam Masala (Fresh-Ground — Indian Spice Pantry) →
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Freshwater king prawns (বাগদা চিংড়ি, Penaeus monodon) sourced live from a Bengali fish market; fresh coconut milk from a mature coconut, pressed twice through muslin within the hour.
02
Estate — Large raw tiger prawns, shell-on and head-on, from a reliable fishmonger; fresh coconut pressed the same day, or high-quality coconut cream diluted for the two extractions.
03
Market — Good raw tiger prawns, frozen-at-sea and properly thawed; full-fat canned coconut milk, the thick cream skimmed from the top used as the first extract and the remaining liquid as the second.
04
House — Frozen shell-off prawns, thawed; a single tin of coconut milk used throughout, accepting some loss of the two-stage distinction — the structure of the dish remains, though its delicacy is reduced.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The initial prawn fry produces a pale gold crust; the prawn releases cleanly from the pan surface.
◇Smell. Whole spices in hot mustard oil swell and release a sweet, woody fragrance — the fat has absorbed their volatile oils.
◇Sight. Onion paste turns dry and pale golden with fat visibly separating at the edges — the raw sharpness is gone.
◇Touch. Simmered prawns yield to a light press with slight resistance; they do not spring back hard, signalling they are cooked but not dense.
◇Sight. The finished gravy is uniformly pale gold and glossy, coating the back of a spoon in a light creamy veil with no oily pooling at the surface.
◇Where it lives or dies. The thin coconut milk must enter the pan before the thick: reversing this order subjects the first extract to extended heat, splitting the emulsion into a greasy, broken gravy from which the dish cannot recover.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Fortified wine
From British Columbia
Spirits gin
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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