Mulo Chingri Ghonto is a classic winter dish in Bengali household. It is a radish and shrimp stir-fried dish prepared with very minimal spices. You can enjoy it with rice or roti.
Mulo Chingri ghonto is best prepared with tender white or pink radish, but you can make it even with any variety of radish. Depending on the kind of radish you use, the cooking time will differ.
You can even make this dish vegetarian by skipping the shrimp and using potatoes instead. It's a simple, quick weeknight dinner that doesn't need a lot of prep or cooking time.
Ingredients you need for Mulo Chingri Ghonto
Radish - Tender pink radish are commonly used in Kolkata as those are peak in winter season. But you can use the white variety too.
Shrimp - I used large size shrimp and chopped in half. You can use the small ones too. I prefer to remove the shells and tails. You can also make mulo chringri ghonto using dry small shrimps.
Spices - There are very few basic spices used in this dish. Cumin seeds, bay leaves and nigella seeds are used in hot mustard oil to start the flavor infusion. And a simple spice paste of cumin, coriander, chili powder is made to add to the radish.
Fresh green chili is optional, but I like the subtle heat it adds. If you want it more spicy, then chop the green chili and add it to the radish along with the spice paste.
Oil - We like to prepare this dish using mustard oil, but you can use regular vegetable oil too.
Steps to prepare
The steps are very simple, and I prepare the dish with very minimal ingredients. But you can add your variations and make it more spicy or rich.
1 - Peel the radish, then either grate it using the bog holes of the grating box or slice it into matchstick size. I prefer slicing as it adds more texture to the dish. Sprinkle salt and keep aside for 30 minutes.
2 - Clean the shrimp and then, based on how big these are, you could leave it full or slice in half.
3 - Marinate the shrimp with salt, turmeric powder and little chili powder. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
4 - In a heavy bottom pan, pour mustard oil and once it heats up, fry the shrimp for 3 minutes and take it off to a bowl.
5 - To the pan now add cumin seeds, nigella seeds and bay leaves. Stir for a few seconds.
6 - The radish must have released all the excess water by now, so squeeze it out of the bowl.
7 - And add it to the pan. Sauté for 2 minutes.
8 - Add little water, low the heat and cover the pan. Allow the radish to soften. Depending on how you cut the radish and how tender it was, it may take more or less time.
9- In a bowl make a paste of turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder with little water. Add it to the pan and mix it around. Let the spice cook for 5 minutes.
10 - Add the fried shrimp now and fresh green chili and mix it around.
11 - Sprinkle a little sugar. Also check for salt and add more if needed.
12 - Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and enjoy it with rice or roti.
If you prefer more spicy, the chop the green chili instead of adding it whole. I personally feel the dish tastes best with rice, but it goes well with roti and dal too.
Try these simple Bengali Vegetarian dishes:
Mulo Chingri Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Medium size Radish
- 10 jumbo Shrimp
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon Nigella seeds
- 1 Bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- 2 Green Chili
- 2 tablespoon Mustard oil
- Finely chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Peel the radish and then either grate it using the big holes of the grating box or thinly slice like match sticks.
- Put it in a big bowl and sprinkle salt on it. Give a mix and leave it aside for 30 minutes.
- Clean the shrimp and slice in half. Place the raw shrimp in a bowl and add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and ¼ teaspoon chili powder. Mix it around and leave it aside for 10 minutes.
- When you are ready to prepare the dish, place a heavy bottom pan in medium heat and pour the oil. Once the oil heats up, fry the marinated shrimp for 2 minutes and then take it off the pan.
- To the same pan add the cumin seeds, nigella seeds and bay leaf. Stir it around for a few seconds.
- Squeeze the excess water from the radish and add it to the pan. Stir it around and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add little water and cover the pan. Let it simmer for a while to soften the radish.
- In a bowl add the cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder with little water to make a spice paste.
- Add the spice paste to the pan and stir it around. Let the spice cook for a few 5 minutes.
- Add the fried shrimp, add the sugar and green chili. Stir it around and taste for salt. Add more if needed.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve warm.
