Recreation of Dynamite Shrimp

Time flies……...it’s been a year since we are back from US and living in India. In this one year I did lot of things starting from decorating our new home to learn absolutely new recipes. I always appreciate people exploring new things and implement the same in their and other's daily life. Its an awesome feeling.

When we were in the US we used to dine out very often and our favorite restaurant would be “Buffalo Wild Wings” which is a sports bar with 360 degree view of TV's being installed even in the restrooms. They are specialized in making Chicken Wings. Being there, I had a fear of not getting same Chicken Wings here in India but I was actually wrong. I found few shops like Spencer's and Republic of Chicken who sell just speciality wings and guess what I have re-created that dish at home (recipe here).

Apart from gobbling Chicken Wings one of the other restaurants we used to love is “P.F.Chang’s” which is a Chinese Restaurant adjusted to American Cuisine. It’s no secret that most American Chinese food restaurants serve dishes that have been adapted to please the Westernized American palate. My husband introduced me to this restaurant and one of the dishes we used to love there was “Dynamite Shrimp”. Though I’m allergic to Shrimp I couldn’t resist myself to this mouth watering dish. So we restricted ourselves to this restaurant and used to visit there very rarely.

Dynamite Shrimp is made from deshelled and deveined shrimps coated with corn flour-egg mixture and then deep fried. Finally, these fried shrimps are dipped in a sauce and served over bed of lettuce.

We used to love this appetizer. My only complain was about the portion served as it was too less compared to the price. Maybe we used to feel so because of our love for Shrimps.

I always say that being a foodie is a boon and a curse at the same time. You get to know about so many different  varieties of food from different cuisines but if you love those dishes you’ll be craving for that dish to death.

My love for Dynamite Shrimp did something like that to me. From last few weeks I was so much craving for that dish that I started looking for the recipe and tried them all but couldn’t match the flavors. Finally I got my hands on this recipe and trust me it is very much close to the restaurant style or “P.F.Chang’s” style “Dynamite Shrimp”. Do give it a try and let me know your honest opinion on my recreation of Dynamite Shrimp.

Steamed Shrimp Curry/ Bhapa Chingri

Shrimp/Prawns/Chingri whatever you call it, they are our (Bengali's) all time favorites. We can use it in each and every vegetable, you just name it and with the blink of eye we are ready with the dish. Moreover there are number of recipes that can be made out of it. Such is the love of Bengali's for "Chingri".

One of the most popular recipe cooked with Shrimp is Chingri Malaikari (recipe here) which is a signature bong delicacy. 

The recipe which I'm sharing today is a quintessential recipe of Bengali Cuisine i.e Bhapa Chingri or Steamed Shrimp in Mustard and Coconut Gravy. I still remembered my Mom cooking this delectable recipe in a pressure cooker and as soon as it's done I use to run to the kitchen and open the cooker to get the whiff of this flavorful dish.

Bhapa Chingri is cooked in mustard paste with coconut milk and a generous amount of mustard oil and slit chillies. Some recipe calls for poppy seed paste but I like it this way. This recipe is very similar to another very popular recipe i.e Ilish Bhapa (recipe here). Just replace the Ilish/Hilsa fish with Chingri/Shrimp.

Traditionally this recipe is prepared using a pressure cooker. All the ingredients are mixed together and placed in a steel container with airtight lid. This container is then placed in the pressure cooker and steamed for 8-10 mins. But, I have used microwave method for preparing this recipe. 

So, without any further ado let's start with the recipe:

Chingri Malaikari/ Shrimp Malaikari.......A Signature Bong Delicacy

Fish and rice is every bengali's comfort food. Ilish, Chingri, Rui, Katla, Koi, Tangra, Pabda, Bhetki and the list goes on and on and on.........We love every variety of fish but amongst all Ilish (Hilsa) and Chingri (Shrimp/Prawn) are our all time favorites.

Since I had been raised outside Bengal we were not privileged to relish some of the very common varieties of fish. We use to get only Rui, Katla, Koi and sometimes Chingri. But whatever variety we would find my Mom always came out with finger licking delicacies. 

Chingri Macher Malaikari is one of the signature dishes of Bengali Cuisine. Every Bong family prepares this delicacy on special occasions. I had seen my Mom preparing this scrumptious delicacy with lot of patience and hard work, she used to delicately clean and devein the shrimp first, then grate the coconut and extract the coconut milk out of it...OMG!!!! Thanks to the supermarkets as we can easily find both the things readily available on the shelves and making this succulent recipe with the blink of an eye.

I have made this Malaikari using head on Shrimps as they add another dimension to this dish. If you want you can use headless Shrimps too. Coconut milk is the key ingredient of this dish. I have used grated coconut along with coconut milk you can use canned coconut milk or make it at home by scraping and soaking the coconut in hot water and then make a fine paste (add a little bit of milk if required). Strain it, your coconut milk is ready to use.

Let's start with the recipe: