Malai Prawn Curry (Chingri Malai Curry)

By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: January 27, 2020

Last Updated: March 14th, 20242 Comments on Malai Prawn Curry (Chingri Malai Curry)

My simple Malai Prawn Curry is at the perfect go-to for a quick and easy hit of Indian spice. It has a silky coconut sauce infused with a complex fragrance and flavour. ‘Chingri Malai’ is one of the tastiest ever!

A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice with a spoon

This super simple Malai Prawn Curry hails from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India's western Bengali region. It's a quick, simple curry to put together - the whole thing ready in around 15 minutes. A quick sizzle in spices is followed with spices for a flavour-packed coconut curry sauce.

If you're short on time, but love the depth of taste of Indian food - seafood and especially shrimp are a great choice of ingredient. Shrimp take minutes to cook and bring a lot in flavour and texture to a dish. The combination of spices at play in this curry marry excellently with the soft, sweet shrimp.

Seafood curries are quick to prepare and cook - this curry is no exception - done in the same time it takes to cook rice. That's perfection! For more perfection, dispense of the rice and heat a pre bought roti or paratha. It's faster food than fast food!

There's everything to love about this quick and easy treat (perfect for a mid-week meal). You might also consider another quick to cook curry or my delicious Sri Lankan Thoramalu Fish Curry.

A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice

What is Chingri Malai?

Chingri Malai Curry, also known as Malai Prawn Curry, is a traditional Bengali seafood curry. It features succulent prawns cooked in a rich and creamy coconut milk-based sauce. Flavoured with spices and ingredients typical of Bengali cuisine, Chingri Malai is a unique and much-loved recipe of the region.

Why this curry works?

It's quick and easy - honestly, it doesn't get much simpler than this curry. Seafood curries are typically speedy and this is no exception. Just add a few spices, a drizzle of coconut cream and you're good to go.

The ingredients for Malai Prawn Curry

Stuff You'll Need

Making malai prawn curry requires a relatively cut-down amount of ingredients as Indian recipes go, but make no mistake, there's still a tonne of flavour to be had. Here are the key flavours.

  • Prawns/Shrimp - use whatever you prefer. I like king/jumbo prawns or regular peeled prawns. Be sure to buy them raw and not pre-cooked and remove any shells/heads and always de-vein the prawns before cooking.
  • Mustard oil - typical in Bengali cuisine, mustard oil brings a little earthy spice to the sauce.
  • Panch Phoron - a spice mix, often named Bengali Five-Spice or Indian Five-Spice that you can buy from any Indian store or online. You can also easily mix your own if you have the whole spices - see the recipe for how to make that. It's EASY!
  • Ground Spices - Turmeric, hot chilli powder, Kashmiri chilli powder (for colour) and a little cumin bring their depth of flavour to create an intensely flavourful curry sauce.
  • Fresh ingredients - Onion, chillies, garlic, ginger and cilantro all bring their unique personality to the recipe.
  • Coconut milk - to create the aromatic, silky sauce we use coconut milk with its sweet, fragrance and decadent texture.
A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice with a spoon

Step by Step

Making Malai Prawn Curry is not difficult at all. Here's how quick and easy it is!

  1. Step 1 - Heat the mustard oil in a large pan or wok until hot - be careful as mustard oil can get quite potent, so don't sniff it in while heating or you might get a nose full of spice. Add the pinch phoron and let it sizzle briefly.
  2. Step 2 - Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chopped chillies and let them sizzle for 12 minutes.
  3. Step 3 - Add the ground spice and about 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and let this sizzle for about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the spice.
  4. Step 4 - Pour in the remaining coconut milk along with 1 cup water and bring to a simmer and bubble moderately for 8 minutes on a lower heat.
  5. Step 5 - Add the prawns and cook for 4-5 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the heat.
  6. Step 6 - Serve hot, scattered with fresh cilantro.
Sizzling Panch Phoron spice mix in hot mustard oil in a pan
Frying onion, garlic, ginger and chillies in mustard oil
Adding spices to fried onion and chilli in a pan
Adding coconut milk to the curry base in a pan
Adding prawns to the curry sauce in a pan
A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice with a spoon

Pro Tips

  • Up the flavour even more - if you happen to buy prawns in their shell and/or with the heads on, you can boil the shells in about 2 cups of water for 5 minutes then discard the shells to make a super delicious prawn broth. Use this instead of water to give more of a prawn-forward flavour.
  • Add some vegetables - This recipe is great to add a few vegetables to. You can cook them in the sauce - try 2" cubed pumpkin, potato or carrot when you add the coconut milk. Add frozen peas at the same time as the prawns. Add frozen spinach or fenugreek leaves to create chingri malai palak.
A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice

Serving & Storage Suggestions

Seafood curries are best when eaten right away. This curry will be ok in the fridge for 1-2 days but I don't recommend freezing. Fresh IS best on this occasion.

I love to serve this curry with lots of fluffy basmati rice or with Indian roti, chapati or paratha breads.

A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice with a spoon

Ready to get cooking?

You can see just how easy this curry is to make at home. There's nothing to it really. Once you taste the sauce for yourself you'll be in complete agreement I'm sure that Malai Prawn Curry is one of the tastiest seafood curries ever! I hope you enjoy!

A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice with a spoon

Any Questions? (FAQ)

Have a question about my Malai Prawn Curry? Let me know in the comments and I'll answer them here.

What is Malai Prawn Curry?

Malai Prawn Curry is a popular Indian seafood dish from the East of India in West Bengal. The recipe is made with succulent prawns cooked in a creamy spiced coconut milk-based sauce.

Is Malai Prawn Curry spicy?

Malai Prawn Curry is typically mild but not exclusively so. It features a rich and creamy sauce with a blend of spice. You can adjust the spice level to your preference by adding or reducing chilli peppers or chilli powder.

A bowl of Kofta (meatball) curry drizzled with yoghurt and garnished with chopped cilantro

The Best Curry Recipes in the Cook Eat World.

Discover all my favourite curries from around Asia. Here are my Best Curry Recipes in the Cook Eat World.

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A bowl with Malai prawn curry and rice with a spoon

Malai Prawn Curry (Chingri Malai Curry)

Rate this recipe

5 from 2 votes
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Recipe by Lee
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time17 minutes
Servings (adjustable) 2
Calories (per serving) | 555

Video Recipe

Ingredients

Make your own Panch Phoron (combine)

  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp black mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp nigella seeds
  • ½ tsp fenugreek seeds

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large pan until just hot.
  • Add the Panch Phoron and let it sizzle briefly
  • Add the onion, chopped chillies, ginger and garlic and fry for 3-4 minutes until softened.
  • Add the ground turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, hot chilli powder, curry powder and salt along with a round 1/4 cup of coconut milk and stir for 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat a little if needed to avoid burning the spices.
  • Add the remaining coconut milk and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer. Bubble moderately for about 8 minutes to reduce the sauce until creamy.
  • Add the prawns and cook for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the heat and serve.
  • Serve scattered with fresh cilantro with plenty of fluffy basmati rice or Indian breads.

Notes

Tips

  • More flavour - if you buy prawns with their shells, you can peel then simmer the shells in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes. Discard the shells and use the flavorful prawn broth instead of water.
  • Add some vegetables - This recipe is great to add a few vegetables to. You can cook them in the sauce - try 2" cubed pumpkin, potato or carrot when you add the coconut milk. Add frozen peas at the same time as the prawns. Add frozen spinach or fenugreek leaves to create chingri malai palak.

Storage

This curry is best eaten right away, but it'll be ok in the fridge (tightly covered) for 1-2 days. I don't recommend freezing.

Nutrition

Calories: 555kcal (28%) | Carbohydrates: 16g (5%) | Protein: 34g (68%) | Fat: 41g (63%) | Saturated Fat: 23g (144%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 286mg (95%) | Sodium: 2632mg (114%) | Potassium: 687mg (20%) | Fiber: 3g (13%) | Sugar: 4g (4%) | Vitamin A: 930IU (19%) | Vitamin C: 43mg (52%) | Calcium: 170mg (17%) | Iron: 5mg (28%)
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