Lau Chingri

Bong Eats’ lau chingri combines bottle-gourd strips with tiny freshwater prawns. The publisher presents a dry curry whose cooking depends on how much liquid the gourd releases.

The prawns are cleaned, deveined and marinated with their separate salt and turmeric. The gourd is peeled and cut into strips before the same prawns are briefly fried in mustard oil and removed.

The retained oil is tempered with dried red chilli, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, clove and cumin seeds. Cumin powder, turmeric and ginger paste are fried into it, with a splash of water offered if the spices stick.

The gourd, slit green chillies and main salt are added and cooked covered with occasional stirring. Sugar follows, and cooking continues until the liquid has mostly dried away.

The same fried prawns return for further braising until light caramelisation develops. Ghee, Bengali garam masala and chopped coriander finish the mixture.