Panch Mishali Tarkari - 5 Vegetables in Coconut Cream

Panch Mishali Tarkari

Gather together all the vegetables you can find, including bits and pieces in the fridge, to compose this simple and satisfying stew. I used a sweet potato, an eggplant, pui shaak with data (malabar spinach), chayote squash and potatoes, but any five or more vegetables will do. After all, who's counting?

Coconut milk makes it extra special by imparting a creamy quality to the vegetables.

Chingri Maacher Malai Curry - Shrimp in Coconut Sauce

 Chingri Maacher Malai Curry

The perfect festive dish to take along to a potluck, this shrimp curry is a Bengali favourite at any gathering. Malai means cream, but instead of using whipping cream, cream from a can of coconut milk is used. Suppress the natural inclination to shake the can before opening, and remove the cream that collects on the inside of the can top and keep scooping out the coconut cream from the can until the thin coconut milk becomes visible.

Purchase the largest raw shrimp that is available. I was lucky enough to find peeled & deveined shrimp that tasted divine. My indication of success is when children like what I cook and had fun watching the littlest kids clamoring for 'fish!' last night at a Diwali potluck.

First Cooking of Shrimp

To keep the shrimp soft and succulent, I introduced them to the sauce at the start, removed them and reintroduced them at the end of the cooking process.

Knowing there were going to be children at this get-together, I kept away from the stronger spices and kept the sauce simple.

Chingri Maacher Malai Curry - Shrimp in Coconut Cream Sauce

Chingri Maacher Malai Curry
Shrimp in Coconut Cream Sauce

A popular & festive main course in Bengali homes, this shrimp dish is usually prepared with the heads intact. I had a package of wild caught shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico that were beheaded (no pun intended) so that's what I used. The heads of shrimp contain flavorful oils full of omega-3, so if you can find 'heads-on' shrimp, they are definitely recommended.

Canned thick coconut milk, if opened without shaking first, has a thick layer of cream on top. Using a spoon, remove this cream and use it to make the sauce for this dish. The rest of the coconut milk can be saved in the refrigerator for another use.

Burmese Pazun Sipyan - Shrimp Curry

Pazun Sipyan
(Shrimp in Coconut Sauce)

This is a Burmese dish that was made in the microwave oven.  'Pazun' means shrimp and 'Sipyan' means 'oil returns'. So as not to skimp on fat, use a healthy oil such as extra-light olive oil when cooking Burmese food.  To get the full flavour to develop, no water was added because the oil must separate and return to the surface in the short time it takes to cook this in the microwave oven. It took exactly four minutes to get done!