Lau Chingri with a twist: Recipe with step-by-step pictures

Hello everybody,

Lau chingri is one of the easiest and most popular dishes in Bengali households. It used to be a winter specialty, a season when the both the chief ingredients lau ( bottle gourd/ lauki) and prawns were available in abundance. Nowadays, thanks to yearlong farming, you can have it whenever your heart desires.  Today I’ll be sharing the recipe of lau chingri but with a twist. This is a beefed up version of the regular lau chingris we have. It carries a slightly heavier taste than the all so common simple method, but is a good alternative when you are/would be in the mood to try something a little different.

Here we go… :D

Ingredients:-

• Lau/ Bottle Gourd, cut into small cubes
• Prawns or Shrimps
• Ginger, onion and garlic, pasted together
• Coconut milk
• Baby onions
• Whole cardamom 
• Clove
• Bay leaves 
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric powder
• Chili Powder
• Cumin Powder
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste

PROCEDURE:-

• In a nonstick pan dry roast the prawns on a high flame until it loses water completely. You can sprinkle a pinch of turmeric. (Sorry, I forgot to click pictures of this step L ) 
• Heat oil in a pan and add cardamom, clove and a cinnamon stick.
• Add in onion-garlic-ginger paste, all the ground spices, i.e. turmeric, chili powder and cumin powder, salt and sugar. Add in the tomatoes and bay leaves. (I prefer adding bay leaves during cooking, rather than directly on oil.)
• Sauté for a while and add in the prawns and stir them well.
• Pour the coconut milk slowly and keep stirring.
• Dunk in the bottle gourd cubes and coat well with the gravy.
• Add the baby onions, cover and let it cook till the bottle-gourd becomes soft.
• Once done, turn off the flame and transfer the contents to a bowl.

You can garnish with grated coconut and baby onions. Serve hot with rice.