Bhapa Chingri is the Bengali way of steam cooking of prawns in mustard gravy. In this recipe article, I have shared how to make bhapa chingri in microwave oven with just a handful of ingredients. This recipe hardly needs 5 minutes of preparation and another 5 minutes of cooking, so with 15 minutes, you have a hearty and delicious prawn curry recipe ready. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners.
This Indian prawn recipe of shorshe bhapa chingri is gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free. To add some richness, I have used some coconut cream which also brings down the pungency of mustard seeds paste. This prawn curry recipe of bhapa chingri is best served with plain rice and a wedge of lemon.
This prawn curry in mustard gravy is a wonderfully versatile recipe. You can try the base gravy of this recipe for bhapa chingri to cook shrimps, prawns, as well as, lobsters. In fact, you can also try fleshy white fishes like cod, carp, barramundi, tilapia and hilsa. I have used this recipe for the gravy to make Bhapa Ilish and Bhapa Rui, both of which are super popular among my family and the blog readers.
Cooking in a Microwave Oven
Most of the households have a Microwave Oven, which is sadly used as a food warmer. Or, perhaps to thaw the meat or fish. At best, making a mug cake. Truth be told, this appliance deserves much more respect than what it gets. A microwave oven can be used to prepare some quick meals, without you reaching out to your stovetop.
The cooking in a microwave basically involves steaming, which means the food gets cooked in its own steam. So, in a way, it is quite healthy. By now we all know that using a microwave oven or cooking in it DOES NOT give us a Cancer!
While cooking red meat or elaborate dishes might not be feasible here, but seafood can be cooked quite easily (and very quickly) with the help of a microwave oven.
Prawns cook very fast. It doesn’t take them much time to cook to perfection. In fact, it is a matter of a couple of minutes only! And this recipe is pretty much about dumping everything in a microwave-safe dish and plopping into one for 5-7 minutes. That’s it. It just cannot get any easier than this.
Let’s see what are the ingredients that we need for this bhapa chingri recipe.
How to make Bhapa Chingri – Bengali Prawn Curry – Ingredients list
- Prawns – Medium – Deveined & Shelled
- Mustard Seeds
- Poppy Seeds – optional. An alternate would be White Sesame Seeds/Melon Seeds
- Coconut Cream
- Green Chilli
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Mustard Oil
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As I told you before, you can use shrimps or lobsters, instead of prawns. You just have to adjust the cooking time as per the size of the seafood used here. Same applies for the fish varieties.
Apart from cooking them in a microwave oven, there are several ways of making this Bengali-style steamed prawn curry. I am listing out them here.
- Using a Steamer – You can use a steamer to making this Indian prawn curry. Simply prepare the recipe as mentioned here and pour it in a baked-proof dish or a metal container. Place it inside a steamer and steam it on high for 10-12 minutes.
- Using a Pressure Cooker – In case you wish to use a Pressure Cooker, pour the prepared mix into a stainless steel container and tighten the lid. Place a tripod in the pressure cooker and pour some water. Place the container on the tripod and close the lid of the pressure cooker. Remove the weight valve or whistle of the cooker. Allow it to steam on high for 10-14 minutes before turning the heat off.
- Using the Oven – Pre-heat the oven at 180c. Pour the prepared mix into an oven-proof baking dish. Place the dish on a baking tray and fill the tray till halfway with boiling water. Now, put this in the oven and bake till you see the prawns turn pink.
In case you are looking for more interesting and delicious prawn recipes, here are a few of them from my blog
Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it.
Tag me on Instagram @priyankabhattacharya.sa or Facebook @hashdiaries and I will share it further.
Bhapa Chingri is the Bengali way of steam cooking of prawns in mustard gravy. In this recipe article, I have shared how to make bhapa chingri in microwave oven with just a handful of ingredients. This recipe hardly needs 5 minutes of preparation and another 5 minutes of cooking, so with 15 minutes, you have a hearty and delicious prawn curry recipe ready. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners.
- 200 gms Prawns
- 1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
- ¾ tsp Black Mustard Seeds
- 1 Green Chili
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup Coconut Cream
- 1 cup Water
- Salt to Taste
- Mustard Oil A drizzle
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Grind the poppy seeds, Salt, Green Chili together into a fine paste. Add water as necessary
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Now, add the Mustard seeds and grind it till they break off. This will take just a couple of seconds. Do not grind it for any longer than this, or they will turn rancid and make your gravy bitter.
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In a mixing bowl, add this paste. To this add the rest of the water, coconut cream and lemon juice.
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Add the prawns to it and give everything a mix.
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Pour this on your baking dish. Drizzle some Mustard oil on top. You may place a couple of Green Chilies as well.
Cover the dish with a clingfilm wrap. Poke a couple of holes through the wrap to allow the steam to escape.
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Cook it for 5-7 minutes on HIGH Powder or 900W in your microwave oven.
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Take it out and allow it to cool. Remove the clingfilm wrap. Serve.
Recipe Video
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