AI-generated image
Lau chingri
Bottle gourd with prawns
Lau chingri: bottle gourd cooked down with small prawns, Bengali home style
Lau chingri is everyday lunch and dinner food in Dhaka homes and over the border in Kolkata: pale bottle gourd cooked slowly in its own juice with small prawns, cumin and green chilli until it turns soft and sweet. It is mild and light, eaten with plain rice and a spoon of dal. The common mistake is adding water; lau is mostly water already, and extra liquid turns it into a thin soup. Chef's tip: fry the prawns first and lift them out, then return them at the end so they stay plump instead of rubbery.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 9 oz small raw prawnspeeled and deveined
- ¾ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp mustard oilor vegetable oil
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onionthinly sliced
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ¾ lb bottle gourd (lau)peeled, seeds removed if large, cut into thin 3 cm sticks
- 3 green chilliesslit
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp ghee (optional)optional; leave out to keep it dairy free
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Toss 9 oz small raw prawns with half of ⅜ tsp ground turmeric and a pinch of ¼ tsp salt.
1 minStep 2: Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in a karai or wide pan over a medium-high heat until it just smokes, then lower the heat a little. Fry the prawns for 1–2 minutes, until they turn pink and curl. Lift them out onto a plate.
3 minStep 3: In the same oil, add 1 bay leaf and ½ tsp cumin seeds and let them sizzle, then add 1 onion and fry until soft and light gold.
4 minStep 4: Stir in 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp ground cumin and the rest of ⅜ tsp ground turmeric with a splash of water and fry for 30 seconds.
Step 5: Add 1 ¾ lb bottle gourd (lau), 3 green chillies, the rest of ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp sugar. Stir well, cover and cook on a medium-low heat, stirring now and then. The gourd will release its own juice; don't add water.
8 minStep 6: Uncover and cook until the gourd is translucent and soft enough to crush against the pan and most of the liquid has gone.
3 minStep 7: Return the prawns and stir for 1–2 minutes, until they are hot and opaque all the way through. Drizzle over 1 tsp ghee if using and serve with rice.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lau chingri take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Sayur lodehVegetables in coconut milk
Sayur lodeh is everyday cooking in Central Java, made in big pots in Solo and Semarang kitchens and ladled over rice, with lontong rice cakes at Lebaran, or alongside opor and sambal goreng on festive tables. It's soupy rather than thick: a fragrant broth of coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf that carries chunks of aubergine, long beans, chayote and sweetcorn, plus tempeh and tofu to make it a meal. The flavour is mellow and slightly sweet, so the heat comes from sambal on the side. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in and stir now and then — a rolling boil splits the coconut milk into oily curds.
Indonesian
Chana masala
A North Indian staple that comes together from the store cupboard. Toasted cumin, slow-softened onion and a good spoonful of garam masala give tinned chickpeas real depth. Serve with rice, naan or a stack of warm rotis.
Indian
Bagara bainganBaby aubergines in peanut sesame sauce
Bagara baingan is a Hyderabadi wedding dish of small aubergines cooked whole in a dark, tangy gravy of roasted peanuts, sesame, dried coconut and tamarind. Unlike a Gujarati stuffed brinjal, the aubergines here are only quartered at the base and fried until silky, then left to soak up a thin-but-rich sauce that is finished with a tempering, the 'baghar' that gives the dish its name. It's sour, nutty and gently spiced, and is served with biryani, bagara rice or plain rice. Chef's tip: choose small, glossy purple aubergines that feel heavy for their size; soft, light ones are full of seeds and turn mushy before the gravy has a chance to cling.