Galda Chingrir Malaikari

Galda Chingrir Malaikari

Yesterday while I was slowly riding my Enfield through the lanes of Lake Gardens, I suddenly got reminded, how 7 years back I managed to come to this place.Back then, as bachelors, with a low paying job,immense amount of freedom and without much dreams we friends had taken refuge in a Paying Guest House.Breakfast was skipped most of the times because we used to sleep till late, every day,office day or not.Lunch and Evening snacks were at office and we were forced to have the bland dinner at our PG at night, because the other options that were available were too costly. Bathing in winters were terrible, because the lone immersion heater that one of my friends had was strictly ruled out by the lady at the PG.Days when I used to come back home earlier, I used to freshen up and then go to the nearby park and light up a cigarette and sip a cup of tea, sitting on the broken boundary wall of the park.In the times that followed, the wall was repaired and new buildings came up surrounding the park.I too quit smoking and also stopped hanging around the park.My friends left that PG and subsequently Lake Gardens, but I still hung in around there,got to know new people, made a few friends, got married, moved into a bigger flat, bought the Enfield,shared family responsibilities and moved on. Over this time, I subconsciously started to like doing the everyday bazaar – strike a conversation with the vegetable and fish wallahs and love the sight of fresh vegetables and fruits etc.
So, when my uncle and aunty came over to our place last weekend, I thought of cooking something delicious for them with the freshest fish available.The fish wallah had told me he will bring Jyanto Galda Chingri(live Prawns).And when I went to the mach bazaar(fish market) early in the morning, true to his word, there were some Big Prawns, alive.I picked up 4 and they weighed 1.2 kgs and paid a cool 700 bucks for them.Truth be told, when I bought them home, I was sceptic about how the final dish will end up being like, so, I started by making small gashes on the prawn body and marinaded it with turmeric powder and salt.
The overall process for cooking over sized prawns for Malaikari involves:
– Marinating the prawns
– Boiling the marinaded prawns for 3-4 mins.
– Lightly frying the prawns
– Cooking.

Marination:
Ingredients: 

• Galda Chingri(Prawns) – 4.(1.2 kg).Light incisions/gashes are required to be made into the prawn body.
• Turmeric Powder – 4 tsp.
• Salt – To taste.
• Mustard Oil – 3 tbsp.

Procedure:

• Wash the prawns in running water and let them dry.
• Coat the  prawns with turmeric powder,salt and mustard oil and keep aside for an hour.

Boiling:

• Boil the marinaded prawns for 3-4 mins in water.

Frying:
Ingredients: 

• Mustard Oil: 4 tbsp.
• Marinaded prawns.

Procedure:

• After the prawns have been boiled, let them dry for some time.
• Turn the heat to medium and add the mustard oil to the pan.
• Once the oil gets hot, fry the prawns on all sides for a max of 2 mins. 
• The colour of the prawns should turn reddish brown on all sides, especially the scales.

Cooking:
I would like to mention a small note here.Malaikari implies cooking with coconut milk.I have prepared this Malaikari with some amount of Tomato paste and Dry Red Chilli Paste, which imparted the dish its Reddish colour.One can forgo this part – but the sour-ness of the tomatoes and the heat that the dry Red Chilli Paste accentuates makes them worth including.
Ingredients:

• Fried Prawns.
• Onion Paste:Paste made from 100 gms of onions.
• Ginger Paste:Made from a 1 inch ginger stick.
• Garlic Paste: Made from 4 cloves of garlic
• Tomato paste: Made from 1 medium sized tomato.
• Green Chillies:5-6.Slit
• Coconut Milk: 3/4 cup.
• Mustard Oil: 3-4 tbsp.
• Melted Ghee:  3 tbsp.To be added at the end.
• Salt:To taste.

Spice Powder/Paste:

• Dry Red Chili Paste: 1 tbsp.
• Cumin Seed Paste:1.5 tbsp.
• Coriander Powder:1.5 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder: 1 tbsp.

Whole Spices:

• Cumin Seeds: 2 tsp.
• Green Cardamon:4-5.Crushed.
• Cinnamon Stick: A couple of 1 inch sticks.

Procedure:

• Heat the mustard oil in a kadai.
• Once the oil gets hot, add the whole spices.
• Let the spices crackle and release their aroma.
• Then add the ginger-garlic paste.
• Stir for a minute or two.Then add the onion paste.
• Wait for the onion paste to turn dry and brown.This should take 5-7 mins.
• Then add the tomato paste and slit green chillies.
• While the tomato paste is still raw, add the powdered and pasted spices and stir for a further 5 mins so that the spices mix uniformly with the gray.
• Add the coconut milk to the gravy and stir for a couple of minutes.
• Sprinkle salt over the mixture and adjust the amount depending on taste.
• Pour warm water depending on the amount of gravy required.
• The fried prawns are to be added at the end.
• Stir and cook for 18-20 mins under medium heat, until the gravy has mixed deep into the prawns.
• Sprinkle melted ghee over the prawns and serve with steamed rice.