Coconut Balls in Bengali style or Narkel Naru

If you want laddus in a jiffy, Narkel Naru or Coconut Laddu is for you. It’s super easy to cook; requires only a couple of ingredients and it is a hot favorite with kids. This Bengali sweet-dish is prepared during many of the Bengali’s festivals like Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja and Swaraswati Puja. Like many Bengali’s this is the very first sweet-dish I learnt to prepare. It’s a simple recipe and will take not more than 10 mints to prepare.

Ingredients:
1.Grated coconut (200g)
2.Palm Sugar (50g)
3.Water

Method:
Heat a heavy bottom pan or non stick pan in high flame. Add the palm sugar and let it melt. Add a little bit of water if the palm sugar sicks to the pan. Keep on stirring till all the palm sugar turns into a saucy liquid. Add the grated coconuts and keep stirring the mixture till the coconut is mixed with the sauce properly. Within 2-3 minutes, the mixture will become brownish in color and start leaving oil. It will become a lot less stickier. This is the time when you turn off the flame. Keep it aside for a 2-3 minutes to cool. Don’t leave the mixture to cool off for more than 5 minutes; otherwise it may become solid.

Make small round shaped balls with the mixture. Although it seems pretty simple to hear, but the first few balls will be difficult to make since your palms will not be accustomed with the heat coming out of the mixture. But after one or two balls, it won’t hurt anymore.

Enjoy.

Mo

Shrimp in mustard and coconut paste

Shorshe-Narkol diye chingri is one of my favorite dishes. It’s quick and easy to cook and good to eat. If you have cleaned shrimp ready, you can cook this up within 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
1. Shrimps of medium size (250g)
2. Coconut Flesh (50g)
3. Yellow mustard seeds (2 teaspoon)
4. Onion (1 big onion chopped)
5. Green chilies (1 whole, 4 slit)
6. Garlic Cloves (5-6 coarsly chopped)
7. Coconut Milk (Optional)
8. Salt to taste
9. Turmeric (2 teaspoon)
10. Cumin powder (1 teaspoon)
11. Mustard oil (2 tablespoon)

Steps:
Marinate the shrimps with a pinch of turmeric and salt for 5 minutes. While the shrimp is getting marinated, prepare the paste for curry. Put yellow mustard seed, 1 green chili and coconut into the grinder and make a coarse paste. If the coconut is very dry, you may add a tablespoon of water to it and grind.

Shallow fry the marinated shrimp in mustard oil very gently for two minutes. Keep the flame low and make sure you don’t break the shrimps in the process.

Heat mustard oil in pan. When the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and let the oil soak the aroma of garlic for half a minute. Add the chopped onions. Add a teaspoon of salt to this and fry the mix until the onions become translucent. Add the remaining turmeric and cumin powder to the onion and fry for a minute. Add the mustard-coconut paste to this and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the fried shrimps and a bit of coconut milk to this. Add the rest of the slit green chilies. Cover this with lid and cook for 2 more minutes. Shrimp in mustard and coconut paste is ready. Serve this with steamed rice and don’t dare to pair this with Roti!!!

Enjoy.

Mo