Bengali chorchoris are vegetable dishes that get an extra dash of flavour from fish and seafood. Satarupa Bhattacharya shares the recipe for a family favourite that harvests the intense flavour of prawns.
My love for chingri maach (prawn or shrimp) stems from the preparation of Chingri maach’er bati chorchori, a simple prawn and potato curry. The recipe was passed down by my paternal grandmother, lovingly referred to as the family’s fish specialist. I was never a big fan of shrimp; I prefer big river fish. But this recipe brings back memories of my father and grandmother cleaning shrimp together, preparing the curry, enveloping me in a blanket of comfort, around stories of people I have loved (and still love).
Bati chorchori was comfort food in our home and cooked only for the immediate family, because it was too simple to serve to guests. The preparation was part of the frugal diet of the Ghotis (Bengalis in West Bengal, post-Partition), often served as the only accompaniment to parboiled rice or wheat-flour rotis. But its accessible ingredients and simple preparation means that this is a dish savoured by all classes of people in the region.
My grandmother had a running joke that explained the Ghoti sentiment on inflation, and she would faithfully recount it every lunch hour: An old couple are preparing for jamai-shoshti, to celebrate their newly married daughter’s groom. The wife insists on serving prawns at the meal, but at the fish market, her husband finds they are too expensive and can only afford a single prawn. His wife is horrified when she finds out. But her husband has a plan — prepare a dish that extracts all the flavour out of this solitary prawn, and then tie a thread around it. Every time the groom places the prawn in his mouth, the old man will tug on the thread, and with sleight of hand, yank it out of the groom’s mouth and place it back on his plate. In this manner, he will surely not notice the meagre single prawn on his plate.
This story, part of Bengali oral tradition, speaks volume about the flavours integral to the cuisine. My grandmother, like the couple in the story, believed that prawns added great flavour to vegetables. Her chorchoris or vegetable mishmashes with fish heads or prawns, are a deeply beloved part of the Bengali kitchen.
Chingri maach’er bati chorchori derives its name from the bowl (bati) it is cooked in. The kansha (bronze, often replaced with aluminium) bowl is supposed to be a simpler, healthier vessel, which adds flavour to the preparation. One of the high points of this recipe is pouring mustard oil at the end to bring out a sharp pungent flavour and fragrance.
CHINGRI MAACH’ER BATI CHORCHORI
Ingredients
- 1 kg prawn or shrimp
- 1 small onion sliced or diced as per taste
- 2 medium sized potatoes sliced
- 5 –7 green sliced chillies
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 3 –4 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 cup of water
- Pinch of kuti-mirch or red chilli powder optional
Instructions
- Remove all scales of the prawns or shrimps and wash it well. Marinate the prawns with a pinch of turmeric and a little salt.
- Heat mustard oil in a deep pan. When hot, add the chopped onion and sauté it on low heat.
- As the onion begins to turn brown, add the chopped potatoes. Mix everything. Add turmeric, kuti-mirch, and salt and mix some more.
- Once it looks a little cooked, place the marinated prawns in the pan and stir. Add sliced green chillies. Stir slowly, and add water.
- Cover with a lid and let the preparation cook for 5–6 minutes.
- If the dish has come to a slight boil, mix well, add a little mustard oil, and cover for another 3-5 minutes. Chingri maach’er bati chorchori is ready when it comes to a slight boil again.