Chingudi Kassa - Spicy Prawns

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In my "Pakhala Party" post, I had mentioned that we had an Odiya friend a.k.a P bhaina bring Dry Prawns Masala which was a BIG HUGE HIT with pakhala.. Well.. I tried to re-live the recipe & came wee bit close..
I still believe, that P bhaina's "Chingudi Kassa" is still the BESTest in the world.. :)

As I promised in my previous post, here is the recipe that I tried.. there are some variations that you can make.. and make it your own.. Hope you try & enjoy it... as much as we did...



What I used


  • 1.5 Lbs of medium size prawns..cleaned (head-on + left the tail cover on too) marinated in salt + turmeric for about 15 -20 mins.
  • 2 inch Ginger + one full garlic (around 10 -12 pods) --> Crushed in mortar-pestle
  • 1 medium size white onion finely chopped
  • 1 medium tomato finely chopped
  • 2 green chillies slit
  • Masala powders (all to your taste of course) -- Jeera powder + Dhaniya powder + Garam masala powder + red chili powder
  • 1 tea spoon whole jeera for tempering
  • Salt + Turmeric to taste again
  • Around 3 - 4 table spoons of olive oil ( I must confess this recipe used a lot of oil)


Process
  • While cleaning the Prawns, I left the head on & the skin on the tail on. This helps the prawns from not getting chewy when they cook. And prawn heads are crunchy & tasty. 
  • Heat olive oil in a open pan, when hot temper oil with whole jeera. 
  • Next add the onions & fry till they are brown on the edges.
  • Next add the crushed ginger+garlic (I did not grind them in grinder for the texture I needed.. ground ginger-garlic is smooth & I did not want smooth)
  • Fry till raw smell of ginger+garlic goes away. 
  • Next goes in the chopped tomatoes + salt + turmeric + green chillies
  • Fry till raw tomato smell goes away. With the amount of oil we have added, you'll start seeing oil on the sides very soon, but it does not mean that the masala is ready. Smell it to be sure. :)
  • Next goes in to the marinated prawns + all dry masala powders (except garam masala)
  • Fry on medium-high heat. The trick n
    ow is to NOT leave the stove unattended. Prawns cook very fast & having the heat on med-high makes sure they cook along with the masala very nicely & quickly. 
  • We can't leave the prawn to cook slowly, because it'll becomes rubbery & chewy. Its the same logic as frying fish, I guess.. :)
  • Once you see the prawns turning their color into a nice reddish-pink, you know they've started to cook.. Max 15 mins on the stove on med-high heat & you are done.
  • Sprinkle with garam masala powder & garnish with fresh coriander leaves if you have them at home (I could not find them in my fridge.. so will the picture say :) 
  • And done !!! 

Comments

  1. wuthering_heightsSeptember 14, 2018 at 9:05 PM

    Hello Susdha, I try to take out Shrimp's intestine, the black line on back of shrimp. With your cleaning method, How you can take it out??

    I know the shrimps test best with shells on.

    ReplyDelete

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