Lau chingri.....and a rainy afternoon

Well no ... not rainy exactly.... but cloudy certainly and very depressingly gloomy....
I was debating whether to have lunch or just have anything that was in the fridge.I usually refrain from keeping cooked food for more than 2 days.(C does not like it) and so usually you will not find anything very edible stored in the fridge other than milk, sauces, jams and raw vegetables.
So very stealthily I opened the fridge praying to find something and there it was..... no no... to be more precise... there was 'nothing'.. readily eatable.... (Poor me!sob!)...
But by then my hunger pangs had grown severe and I decided to cook something that would take me less than 20 minutes.
I fished out a gourd ( half of which we have had two days back) and found a quarter pound of kucho chingri (small shrimps) in the deep freezer.
So there it was Lau Chingri... a very traditional bengali recipe and very light and healthy.
You can spice this up with coconut shavings and boiled bengal gram lentil.... but without these condiments too this dish is simply delectable.

Ingradients:

Bottle gourd: half of a medum sized one peeled , washed and chopped finely
Shrimp: 1/4 lb
Mustard seeds:1/2 tsp
Panch foron:1/2 tsp
light coconut milk:5 tbsp
ginger paste:1 tbsp
dry red chilli:2-3
coriander leaves:a hanful
oil:4 tbsp
salt
sugar

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and lightly saute the shrimp with a pinch of salt.
Set them aside.
Now heat the remaining oil and sizzle the mustard seeds, chiilies and the panch foron.
Add the bottle gourd. Add a pinch of salt and stir.
Now cover the pan ,put the heat on medium and let the gourd cook in its own juices for 7-8 minutes.
When the gourd is soft add the ginger paste and stir again.
Add the shrimps now with the cocnut milk and cover and cook for 2 more minutes.
Now remove the cover and add salt and sugar according to taste.Note that the coconut milk should dry up before you remove form heat.
Add the coriander and serve hot with white rice...YUM!

P.S. Paanch foron is a Bengali spice mix comprising of paanch or 5 spices. This is mainly used for tempering or foron. It comprises of whole
1.Fennel
2.Fenufreek
3.Nigella
4. Mustard (black)
5. Cumin