Shrimp in a Creamy Mustard Curry – Doi Shorshe Chingri
Mustard comes to me in many forms. It is a part of my heritage, It is a part of my dreams and of course my creative universe., Every time my mother visits me after living with my brother for a while she craves simple Bengali flavors. Soupy red lentils, mashed vegetables and some kind of fish curry. To satisfy such cravings today I made Doi Shorshe Chingri. This is Shrimp in a creamy Mustard Curry.
My Doi Shoshe Chingri Story
This particular shrimp dish, Shrimp in a Creamy Mustard Sauce or Doi Shorshe Chingri is one of so called family favorites. I add a couple of tablespoons of Greek Yogurt and fresh coriander leaves to the already flavorful sauce. I often serve this with simple freshly sliced cucumbers and steaming hot rice. After all where there is mustard there is always freshly cooked white rice. On the Bengali table at least.
When I made it this weekend, I felt that I needed to capture the dish for posterity.
Developing the flavors
This dish also cooks for a little longer as it is essential for the sauce to develop its flavor ever so gently to ensure that the sauce does not break so essentially the shrimp cooks by softly poaching in the gravy. I also like to use a medium sized wild caught shrimp for this sauce as it responds best to gentle poaching for the sauce.
Last week was a bit of a disappointment, I had hoped to get a couple of days off and spend it with mom, turns out she went to my aunt instead. Given how crazy the week and the next several weeks are looking like it is just as well.
I attached Netflix with a vengeance this weekend, mostly Bollywood. I am also looking forward to tomorrow’s vegetarian class. Looks like this will set the stage nicely for my Dosa bar class. It is unlikely that I will be able to make too many of the markets this year, as the work front seems busy. Although, there are a decent number of book events here and there so I suppose I cannot complain.
Back to the dish on hand, I also use Kashmiri red chili powder, as it gives the dish a pretty deep red hue, if you can handle the cayenne by all means use the real deal.
A well seasoned creamy mustard and shrimp curry, using fresh cilantro and a little Greek Yogurt. This curry gets its depth of flavor from low and slow cooking.,
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons mustard oil
- 11/2 teaspoons panch phoron (Bengali Five Spice)
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/4 cup fresh mustard paste
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons Greek Yogurt
- Salt to taste
- 1 pound of shrimp shelled
- 1/4 cup very finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil until it is smoking and add in the Bengali Five Spice Blend and wait until the spices begin to crackle.
- Add in the turmeric and the Kashmiri Red Chili Powder and stir lightly.
- Add in the ginger and mix well.
- Add in the mustard paste and the water and bring to a simmer. Cook the mixture on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Add in the yogurt and mix well. Add in the salt and the shrimp and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. At this point the shrimp should be cooked through and the sauce should thicken.
- Check the seasonings. Stir in the cilantro and serve.