Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry)
Large prawns gently simmered in a subtle, creamy coconut-milk gravy with onion paste, ginger, and warm spices, a festive Bengali treat served with rice.
Bangladeshi (Bengali) · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~540 cal · 37g protein · 11g carbs · 40g fat · 3g fiber · 6g sugars · 27g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Chingri malaikari is a festive Bengali prawn curry, beloved across Bangladesh and West Bengal, in which large prawns are simmered in a subtle, creamy coconut-milk gravy. Despite the name often read as malai (cream), the dish is more likely named for Malay traders, so malaikari means Malay curry, a nod to the coconut-based curries of maritime Southeast Asia.
Giant freshwater prawns (golda) or tiger prawns (bagda) are preferred, and the shells and heads are usually left on because they carry so much flavour. The prawns are seared only briefly, since overcooking toughens them, then finished in a gravy of browned onion paste, ginger, warm whole spices, and balanced with a little sugar.
Milder than most Bangladeshi cooking, it is a special-occasion dish that graces the table at weddings and celebrations, and it needs nothing more than a plate of hot steamed rice.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.25 lbs large prawns or shrimp, shell-on, deveined
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp mustard oil
1 tbsp
1 heaping tbsp whole spices (bay leaves, cinnamon, green , cloves, dried red chilli)
1/2 cup onion paste
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
4 green chillies, slit
1.5 cups full-fat
1/4 cup
1/2 tsp
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Toss the prawns (or mushrooms) with the turmeric and a pinch of salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
2
Heat the mustard oil in a pan until it just smokes, then sear the prawns for about 30 seconds a side until the shells turn bright, and remove them, leaving them slightly underdone.
✎ Chef’s note
Sear the prawns only briefly, the longer they cook the tougher they get; they finish in the gravy at the end.
3
Add the ghee to the same pan and temper the whole spices for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
4
Add the onion paste and sugar and fry for 8 to 10 minutes until browned, then add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook another few minutes.
5
Stir in the chilli powder, cumin, and a little salt, and cook until the oil begins to separate from the masala.
6
Add the slit green chillies and the coconut milk (or oat cream) and bring to a gentle simmer, then stir in the coconut cream.
7
Return the prawns and simmer gently, covered, for no more than 5 minutes until just cooked through, then finish with the garam masala and serve with steamed rice.
Bengali festive cooking of Bangladesh and West Bengal.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dhaka. Ilish, the hilsa, is the national fish and a seasonal one, running up from the sea into the rivers with the monsoon and landed in quantity at Chandpur and Mawa. At the Bengali new year it is eaten as panta ilish, fried fish alongside rice that has been left overnight in water.
🗺️
Bangladesh. Hilsa is the national fish and the argument is about which river it came from, with Padma hilsa held to be the finest. It is oily, bony and eaten with the bones negotiated rather than removed, cooked with mustard oil and mustard paste. Panch phoron, the five-seed mix, is fenugreek, nigella, cumin, black mustard and fennel, added whole.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Bangladesh
Bhuna KhichuriToasted rice and moong dal cooked rich with ghee, whole spices, and caramelized onion, monsoon comfort from Dhaka.
Ruti with Aloo BhajiSoft whole-wheat flatbread with a lightly spiced potato-and-onion curry, the everyday Dhaka breakfast.
Shorshe IlishHilsa fish in a pungent mustard-and-green-chili sauce, the prized national dish of Bengal, eaten with rice.
Browse all Bangladesh recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Bangladesh meal
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RoshogollaDessert
Bhuna KhichuriDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry)?
Large prawns gently simmered in a subtle, creamy coconut-milk gravy with onion paste, ginger, and warm spices, a festive Bengali treat served with rice.
Where does Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry) come from?
Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry) is a Bangladeshi (Bengali) dish from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Can Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chingri Malaikari (Prawn Coconut Curry) take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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