Chingri Bata Prawn Paste Bengali Condiment

Method

1. 1

   Rinse the dried prawns: Rinse the dried prawns under cold water once. Spread on a clean cloth and pat dry.

2. 2

   Dry roast briefly: Dry roast the dried prawns in a small pan on low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until they turn slightly darker and smell more intensely of the sea.

3. 3

   Dry roast the red chilli: Roast the dried red chilli in the same pan for 30 seconds until slightly darkened.

4. 4

   Cool everything: Allow the roasted prawns and chilli to cool completely before grinding — hot ingredients make the paste wet.

5. 5

   Grind coarsely first: Place the cooled dried prawns, dried red chilli and garlic in a mixer grinder. Grind 20 to 30 seconds to a coarse, rough mixture.

6. 6

   Add mustard oil and salt: Add raw mustard oil and a pinch of salt.

7. 7

   Grind to a paste: Grind 2 to 3 minutes more to a medium-fine paste. The paste does not need to be completely smooth — some texture is preferable.

8. 8

   Taste: The paste should be intensely savory, pungent, salty and sharp from the mustard oil. It is an intensely flavoured condiment used in tiny amounts.

9. 9

   Transfer to a clean jar: Store in a glass jar with lid.

10. 10

    Use: Add 1 teaspoon of chingri bata to hot steamed rice with a little mustard oil for the simplest Bengali meal. Add to dal, to vegetable preparations or to the base of a curry for depth.

11. 11

    Note: Chingri Bata (bata = ground paste in Bengali) is one of the most ancient flavouring preparations of coastal Bengal — the practice of drying prawns and grinding them into a paste is a preservation technique from the pre-refrigeration era of the Bengal delta. The paste lasts for months when stored in an airtight jar and is used in tiny quantities as an intense flavouring agent. In the coastal districts of 24 Parganas and Midnapore, chingri bata is as essential a pantry item as mustard oil.