Chinguri Chura

'Chuna Chinguri' or the tiny prawns are very difficult to come by in Banglore. So when I found a fresh lot at my nearest Bengali Fish stall, I was delighted. These tiny prawns are sweeter than the big ones and can be fried to a very crisp texture. Also, I find it easy to clean the lot. One just needs to pinch off the heads and wash them in lots of fresh water to remove the sands.

This is a very delicious 'Chinguri Chura' I made with them. Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients - 250-300 gm tiny prawns, 1/4 tsp turmeric, salt to taste, 1 medium sized onion, 3-4 green chillis, 4-5 garlic flakes (peeled), 2 tbs chopped coriander leaves, 3-4 tsp oil.

Preparation - Take the cleaned prawns in a mixing bowl. Add salt and turmeric, mix well and keep aside for 5 minutes.

Chop the onion into small pieces.

Cooking- Heat a non-stick frying pan. Add the oil.

Add the marinated prawns (do not any any of the liquid that oozed out during marination). Fry for 6-8 minutes till crisp. Remove from flame and allow to cool down.

Transfer the fried prawns into a grinder jar. Add onions, broken green chilli, coriander leaves and garlic flakes. Buzz for a few seconds till they turn into a coarse powder. (Do not worry if you have a few prawns still intact.)

Serve with white rice and dal (or even better eat it with Dahi Pakhala).

Chinguri Sukhua Chura

Cooking Time Required: 10-15 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups dried shrimp (chingudi sukhua)
• 3 dry red chillis
• 7 garlic flakes
• 2 green chillis
• 1 tsp mustard oil
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp chopped cilantro
• Salt to taste

Preparation: Wash and drain the prawns . Crush the garlic flakes .

Cut the onions and green chillis into small pieces.

Cooking: Heat 1 tsp of oil in a wok. Break the red chillis into 2-3 nos and add to the wok along with the crushed garlic flakes.

Fry till the prawns become crispy .


















Remove from the wok and crush the prawns with a rolling pin. Add the onions and green chillis. Sprinkle a few drops of mustard oil and salt. Mix well .

Serve with pakhala/ rice and dal .

Note: One can also make this preparation with fresh small prawns.
Crush in a grinder for 5-6 secs instead of using a rolling pin.


Shrimp