Daab Chingri

The origin of the Daab Chingri (prawns cooked in whole green coconut shell) is credited to the coastal rural undivided Bengal, where both prawns and coconuts are readily available items. The exact time of inception of the dish cannot be pegged to a definite date, but it certainly emanated after multiple culinary influences that Bengal was subjected to. The cultural and culinary influence of the Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Armenians and certainly the Burmese, Thai and Malaysians from the South East, impacted the local palate. In the southeastern nations, prawn cooked in coconut paste was always a common and popular dish.

The Daab Chingri as we know it now, is a dish where fresh prawns are de-shelled, then dipped in a mix of mustard-poppy seed paste, thinly chopped sweet pink onion, turmeric powder and slit green common chillies, salt and mustard oil (for its pungency). This mixture is then filled inside a freshly opened green coconut which has a thin layer of flesh still intact within. The coconut water from the freshly cut coconut is drained out and some of it is used in the mixture. The thin layer of coconut flesh can also be scooped out and churned to extract the milky paste, which is then added to the prawn mix. The mouth of the stuffed coconut shell is again capped and sealed using dough or foil paper and put on low heat for the mix to cook inside this makeshift "cooking pot".

Whilst it is self explanatory, a lot needs to be understood as to why the use of this particular marinade became this popular and what changes this exotic mix undergoes while it is being cooked. Bengali cuisine is known to use a complex mix of spices and herbs in perfect proportions to manifest the most proffered flavours and tastes from a dish. This judicious use of spices and herbs was perfected over generations in the kitchens of the common rural and urban households. With changing times and quick cooking methods, the preferred options today to cook the Daab Chingri are in a microwave (set at high for 25/30 minutes), or an OTG (at 350/400 F for one to one-and-a-half hour), or steamed inside a pressure cooker with about an inch of water (for 15 to 20 minutes).

With these methods, the prawns cook in the tanginess of the mustard paste and oil. The sweet green onion offsets the sharp undertone of pungency from the mustard and the tender coconut paste mix softens the prawns and gives it a rich sweet flavour with a creamy texture. The split green chillies are added to infuse the dish with a sharpness. The cooked prawn in mustard paste within the green coconut shell is then served in its entirety to be finally savoured. What you have now is a runaway hit and a gustatory sensation on the rural and urban food scape.