My recent trip to Kolkata was an eventful holiday, all my to-do-list were fulfilled. Watching Bangla theater, meeting friends, watching new Bengali movies,shopping, meeting relatives, friends and what not ! I had kept one mission on the day of departure, a visit to local fish market which falls on the west of the Ballygunge bridge around Gariahat Flyover. How could I miss a trip to the huge fresh water fish market before embarking for Chennai ! As expected I bought many fish varieties which are hard to find in Chennai. Small Puti, Kucho Chingri, Mourala, Bhetki (fish finger cut), small Pabda and Parshey to name a few. The recipe that I am going to share today is simple but delicious. Have a look at the pic and see how fresh these kucho chingris were...
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See how small they are |
Ingredients:
400 gms Kucho Chingri (Baby Shrimps)
1 small Onion, finely diced
1-2 Green chilies, chopped
1 tsp Ginger paste
3-4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
1/3 cup All purpose flour
Handful of Coriander leaves(chopped) + 1tbsp of tender stems of coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Method:
The first step is to clean the nano shrimps by taking a big bowl and rinse them several times in running water. Use both your hands and rub thoroughly. This is the only effective way to remove any mud.
Strain through a fine sieve and let it sit for 5 minutes. In between take a mixing bowl or plate, add onions, green chilies, ginger paste and mix well. Squeeze out any excess water from the Kucho Chingri (baby shrimp) and add into the bowl.
Now what my Baba follows is to mash the Kucho Chingri with the bottom of a glass. I sometimes take half of the Chingri and run it for a minute in a coffee grinder. You can skip this step if you wish to. Add the remaining ingredients except oil and mix everything well. Heat oil in a frying pan and drop small amount of batter into the pan.
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The final batter looks like this... |