Lau Chingri
Lau Chingri is a quintessential Bengali side dish, enjoyed quite often during summer days. “Lau” is bottle gourd and “Chingri” is shrimp and the combination works beautifully with very minimal spices. It’s a delicacy in West Bengal, a comfort food when paired with steamed white rice.
Ingredients
- 1 Medium size tender bottle gourd
- 8 oz Medium size raw shrimp (Shell and tail removed)
- 2 fresh green chili (trimmed at the edge or slit in half (if you want it spicier))
- 1 tablespoon Mustard oil
- 1 to 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp Nigella seeds
- ½ tsp Cumin seed
- 3 Green cardamoms
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
- Salt to taste
- Few springs of fresh cilantro leaves ( roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Start by marinating the shrimp with salt and turmeric powder. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel the bottle gourd and cut thin circular slices. If the bottle gourd is not tender and has big seeds, discard the center. Make multiple stacks and thinly slice like matchsticks.
- Place a wok or a saucepan in medium high heat. Pour the oil and once it hot, fry the marinated shrimp for 2 minutes and then take it off the pan.
- To the same pan, add bay leaves, nigella seeds, cumin seeds and cardamoms. Stir it around and let it sizzle for a while.
- Scatter the sliced bottle gourd and toss it around. Add salt, sugar, cumin powder and toss it around.
- Cover the pan, lower the heat and let it cook for 7 minutes. Please note, it will take more time if you are making in bigger batch.
- Add the shrimp, cilantro leaves, green chili. Stir it around and let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Serve it warm with steamed rice.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 116mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 32IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 2mg