Chungdi Malai

Before you start

• Rub the shelled prawns with 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt and rest 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry before cooking.
• Grind the onion to a smooth paste with no water. Wet onion paste will not brown properly and the gravy stays raw-tasting.
• Shake the tin of coconut milk before opening, and keep it out of the fridge — cold coconut milk splits when it hits a hot pan.

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadhai and sear the prawns on high for 45 seconds a side, until they just turn pink. Lift them out at once.Prawns cook in under two minutes total. Anything more and they go to rubber, so undercook them here — they finish in the gravy.
2. Add the remaining 2 tbsp ghee and drop in the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Fry 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add the onion paste and fry on medium for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until it turns pale gold and stops smelling raw.This is the longest step and the one people cut short. Wait for the paste to pull away from the pan in a mass.
4. Stir in the ginger and garlic pastes and cook 2 minutes more.
5. Add the turmeric, kashmiri chilli and salt with 2 tbsp water and fry 1 minute so the spices do not scorch.
6. Lower the flame and pour in the coconut milk. Add the sugar and slit green chillies.Never boil coconut milk hard — it separates into oil and curds. Hold it at a bare simmer.
7. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes until the gravy thickens enough to coat a spoon.
8. Return the prawns with any juices, add the garam masala, and simmer 2 minutes only.
9. Take off the heat and rest 5 minutes covered before serving with plain rice.

Storage

Keeps 2 days refrigerated. Reheat on a low flame just until warm — reboiling both splits the coconut milk and toughens the prawns.