Bong Connection Seafood

chingrir paturi(Prawns cooked wrapped in pumpkin leaves)

This is one of those traditional delicacies of Bengal which  definitely miss in Mumbai.Pumpkin leaves has a healthy amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron, while being very low in calories.The people who belong to Bengal which is a state in Eastern India consume almost all the parts of pumpkin tree including leaves,flowers ,stalks and fruits.For this dish you need one or more  big pumpkin leaves.Generally this dish is prepared with medium sized prawns but on this day I got only jumbo prawns in the market so prepared the dish with the same.It was equally delicious.The dish is so delicious that even while writing the recipe my mouth is watering.It is served with white steamed rice.Mustard oil gives a real kick and spiciness to the dish but if you cannot tolerate spice ,you may choose to avoid oil altogether or may add coconut oil.you can eat the prawns and also the leaf cooked in spice.

Ingredients

1.Jumbo prawns (3) or medium sized prawns (8 to 10) (de-veined and shelled)
2.Black mustard seeds(1/2 cup)
3.Yellow mustard seeds(1/2 cup)
4.Poppy seeds (1/4th cup soaked in water for 5 minutes)
5.Coconut fresh grated(1/2 cup) optional
6.Green chilies(5 to 6)
7.Onions(finely chopped 1 cup)
8.Mustard oil (2 to 3 tbsp)
9.Salt as per taste
10.Lemon juice (1 tbsp)
11.Turmeric powder (a pinch)
12.Pumpkin leaves (1 or 2 big)

Preparation

1.grind together black ,yellow mustard ,poppy seeds and green chilies with salt and mustard oil into a very fine paste.
2.Mix the mustard seeds with salt and then grind,it will prevent turning the paste bitter.Adding mustard oil gives that real kick to the spice mix.
3.Add lemon juice and chopped onions to the spice and mix with your hands.

4.Smear the prawns with this paste ,till the time you prepare the leaves.

5.Wash the leaves in hot water in which little salt is added to kill the germs or pesticides applied if any.

6.Wrap the prawns mixture in the leaves.If you do not have a big leaf and using a jumbo prawn ,you can make different parcels for each prawn.

7.After this add some mustard oil to the frying pan and add 1/4th cup of water and place this parcel or parcels on the pan and cover cook for 15 to 20 minutes on slow heat.
8.If the leaf is cooked and fried on one side ,flip it over and cook till the other side is also fried and crispy.
9.The dish is now ready to serve with white steamed basmati rice.

Aboutindrani

Indrani Sen is a teacher,lecturer in Information Technology/Computer Science for the past 12 years. She has authored 4 text books in Information Technology.
She is passionate about cooking and loves to blog about food and travel.This blog is like my baby as I have built it from scratch by myself with little help from colleagues ,friends and of course Google.

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