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Challun (Bengali Shrimp Paste) | Traditional Chingri Pickle Recipe

Challun is a traditional Bengali shrimp paste made with tiny shrimp, garlic, dried red chillies and mustard oil. This spicy family recipe is easy to prepare, freezer-friendly and delicious served with hot steamed rice.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course: pickles and chutneys
Cuisine: Bengali., Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams Small shrimps
  • 3 Tablespoons Mustard oil
  • 10 Pieces Dry red chilies the hot variety ( you can make it less spicy by discarding the seeds)
  • 6 Pods Garlic the big variety. ( 12 of the small Indian garlic variety)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt ( adjust the salt quantity according to your taste)

Equipment

  • 1 Pan or Wok/ Kadai For frying
  • 1 Grinder or Traditional grinding stone

Method
 

PREPPING
  1. Wash the shrimp thoroughly. Put them in a colander and wash under running water so that there is no sand in it. Also sort out any twigs.
  2. Peel the garlic.
  3. If you want to make the Challun little less hot, remove the seeds from the dry chillies before frying them. I have kept the seeds, you can see the seeds in the photo because they didn’t grind in the grinder.
HOW TO MAKE THE CHALLUN
  1. Heat the mustard oil in a kadai ( wok) or pan
  2. Fry the garlic first till they are a little brown at the edges
  3. Add the chillies and fry them too, till a bit brown.
  4. Remove the garlic and the chillies from the pan with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
  5. In the oil that it left in the kadai fry the Shrimp till they are pink and crisp
  6. Once the shrimp and garlic and chillies and cool, put them in a strong electric grinder, add some of the salt and also if there is any oil left in the kadai.
  7. Grind to a paste. It may not grind smoothly in one go so you will have to remove the lid of the grinder and stir the mixture. You can add a little more oil if necessary.
  8. Taste to see if the salt is enough before taking the challun out of the grinder and serving.
  9. It is best eaten with cooked/steamed rice.

Notes

  • Wash the shrimp several times to remove all sand.
  • Don't burn the garlic.
  • Let everything cool before grinding.
  • Add a little mustard oil if the paste is too dry.
  • Freeze in small portions.