For once, keep it simple

Pushpesh Pant

CR Park in the Capital, known long ago as EPDP Colony, is a food lovers’ delight. It has many sweet shops — some famous, others unknown — that sell delectable Bengali sweets like Darbesh, Lavang Latika, Malpua and, of course, the irresistible Nalin Gurher Sondesh in winter.

Every time we pass by Nehru Place or GK-II, the temptation is too great to swerve and stray to taste something or stock up on our favourite brand of kasundhi or date palm jaggery. It is also a great place to buy fish and seafood. The fishmongers used to dealing with fussy Babu Moshai clean and cut what you order while grumbling and we often end up buying up more stuff than we can cope with.

However, on a recent visit, we picked up some succulent prawns that made a perfect prawn masala. Some prefer their jhinga in gravy to slurp with fluffy steamed rice. However, we think there is nothing that can match the crustaceans draped in thick sauce. Eat them with phulka or parantha or spread them on toast, the possibilities are infinite. Expensive, yes, but remember, a little goes a long way!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Prawns (medium sized, shelled and deveined) 500g

Tomatoes (medium sized, chopped fine) 2

Onion (medium sized, peeled and grated or sliced fine) 1

Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp

Cumin powder ½ tsp

Black pepper powder ½ tsp

Red chilli powder ½ tsp

Turmeric powder ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Mustard oil ¼ cup

Method

Wash and pat dry the prawns. Spread on a flat platter and sprinkle over with a little turmeric and salt. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan to smoking point and then reduce the flame to medium and put in the prawns. Stir fry gently for about two minutes till the prawns turn pink and curl up. Be careful not to overcook. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

Raise the flame to high and add tomatoes and onions to the oil along with powdered spices and salt. Stir briskly till fat leaves sides. Now put in the prawns. Mix well to coat with spices and pour in ¼ cup of water. Let it simmer for two minutes. Garnish with chopped green chillies and sprinkle a little lemon juice if you like. Enjoy!