Kumro Chingri Torkari -Stir Fried Butternut Squash or Pumpkin with Shrimp
A visit from my brother and a recipe redux theme, allowed me to rework an old recipe. I had posted this Kumro Chingri or Shrimp with Butternut Squash on May 12, 2009. I remade this with pumpkin recently.
Recently, my brother picked up the largest pumpkin, he could find and brought it home. I made soup with half of it and this dish with the other half. Actually, I made this two ways. I tried an instant pot variation. You knew that was coming. Come on, I love my instant pot, can’t you tell? I just wrote a book about Indian cooking in the Instant pot. But, seriously speaking the instant pot worked very well too! It gave the dish just the right soft texture.
If you do not wish to add shrimp, that works well too. You can increase the coconut, to give you some added texture. The traditional winter squash on the Bengali table is pumpkin, I however, find that the butternut squash works well both in terms of taste and texture as a substitute. And, if you have pumpkin, go for it.
Original Post.
I often pick up an off season winter squash, as it is so much a part of the Bengali kitchen, I substitute a whole assortment of squash for the ubiquitous pumpkin or kumro, over the years I have settled for Butternut Squash, Kabocha Squash and the Delicata Squash. Combining it with shrimp, like in this recipe is also a very typical preparation. The names of such dishes are well, literally Kumro Chingri or Pumpkin Shrimp. Well, I should have posted about mother’s day, etc, etc. For starters I actually did not cook much this weekend and also ended up with a mixed bag over the weekend.
Let me see, had a fight with my husband, mixed up a fun party invite, thought it was Sunday when it was actually Saturday day – I did have a decent dinner on Saturday, for some reason I decided to stretch my luck and go out for lunch on Sunday as well.
I am recovering from my son’s lunchtime performance. For some reason, in a very crowded restaurant (think mother’s day lunch), he decided to suddenly scream out loudly. Once he had appropriately attracted enough attention he continued with his business as though he had no idea what was going on. Think the salad scene at When Harry met Sally.
Ok, not quite, but the impact was the same. Anyhow, this recipe uses my favorite spice panch phoron, the classic bengali 5-spice mixture. This is a comforting spice blend for me, I have grown up listening to its musical splutter when thrown into hot oil and then taste its wonderful balanced ‘all in one” taste. Anyhow, I have used this in a weeknight dinner with butternut squash and shrimp. Pairing shrimp with vegetables is also a very Bengali concept, the only difference here is that we tend to get absolutely fresh tiny shrimp in India, so it does not contrast and offer as much texture as the large shrimp does in this recipe. But this was good too! This dish is best enjoyed with rice and dal.
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A Bengali style recipe pairing butternut squash or pumkin with shrimp, seasoned with Bengali 5 spice and ginger.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lbs large peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon olive or mustard oil
- 1/2 teaspoon panch phoron (bengali 5-spice nigella, cumin, mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds)
- 1-2 whole dried red chilies
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cups peeled cubed butternut squash or pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon flaked coconut, dried or fresh
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Coat the shrimp with the turmeric, chili powder and half the salt.
- In a heavy bottom pan heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook the shrimp lightly. It just needs to be done for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in the same and add the whole red chilies and the 5-spice mixture.
- When the mixture begins crackling, add in the ginger and shallots and stir for 1-2 minutes and add in the squash or pumkin with the remaining salt and begin cooking on low. Stir in the dried coconut and the coconut milk. Cover and cook the squash untill almost done (about 5 minutes).
- Remove the cover and stir in shrimp and cook for another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Stir in cilantro and black pepper.
Notes
Instant Pot Variation
Coat the shrimp with the turmeric, chili powder and half the salt.
Turn the instant pot onto saute mode, and add in 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the shrimp. and cook the shrimp lightly. It just needs to be done for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the same and add the whole red chilies and the 5-spice mixture.
When the mixture begins crackling, add in the ginger and shallots and stir for 1-2 minutes and add in squash or pumkin with the remaining salt and flaked coconut and coconut milk. Turn off the saute mode.
Add in the shrimp and set on low pressure for 2 minutes. Release pressure after 10 minutes.
Stir in cilantro and black pepper.