Chingri fulkopir kalia

Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Chingri Fulkopir Kalia is a Bengali prawn curry with potatoes and cauliflower. Her family’s richer version includes Bengali garam masala and a ghee finish, while she distinguishes her mother-in-law’s less gravy-like mustard-oil preparation.

Cleaned, deveined prawns retain their shells and are marinated with salt and turmeric. Potatoes are peeled and halved, cauliflower cut into large pieces, and each vegetable is seasoned separately; onion and tomato are made into separate pastes.

The prawns are lightly fried in mustard oil and lifted out. Potatoes fry in the same oil until golden, followed by cauliflower until golden and crunchy; bay leaf, dried red chilli, cinnamon and green cardamom then temper the remaining oil.

Sugar caramelizes in the oil before onion paste browns. Tomato, ginger and garlic pastes cook until oil appears at the edges, followed by sliced green chillies, ground cumin, Kashmiri chilli powder and some Bengali garam masala; salt and turmeric are adjusted.

Water is added and the fried potatoes simmer under a lid until cooked. The fried cauliflower and prawns return, then ghee and the remaining garam masala finish the semi-runny curry; the recipe offers it hot with steamed rice.