Once considered a foraged ingredient meant only for village kitchens, kucho or phool chingri has risen in prominence in the Bengali culinary scene.
What was earlier bought at local haats is now being celebrated on social media, with food content creators spotlighting its flavour, versatility and nostalgia.
This renewed attention has turned the tiny shrimp into an unlikely star, reminding many Bengalis of flavours that had almost slipped out of urban memory. As kucho chingri arrives in Kolkata bazaars, here’s how you can enjoy these tiny flavour-packed morsels.
What is phool chingri?
Phool chingri, the smaller cousin of kucho chingri, refers to the tiny river shrimp caught in the distributaries near the Sunderban delta.
With their translucent bodies and soft shells, these shrimp pack an intensity of flavour that larger prawns cannot match. The sweetness is sharper, the aroma more pronounced and the texture delicate enough to melt into a dish.
They are sold fresh in markets when the catch is good, or dried into shutki, which is considered a delicacy and used sparingly to elevate everyday meals.
How is it used?
Traditionally, phool chingri has been a staple in frugal yet deeply flavourful cooking. A handful tossed into a simple vegetable stir fry or mashed with mustard and green chillies could transform a meal.
Among the most loved preparations is phool chingri’r bora, crisp fritters that are best eaten with hot rice and a light dal.
Increasingly, these fritters are also finding favour as bar snacks, paired with a cold glass of beer, bridging the gap between nostalgia and modern indulgence.
Content creators bring it back to the spotlight
Food content creators have played a crucial role in bringing phool chingri back into the spotlight. Through reels and home-style recipes, they have demystified the cleaning process and highlighted its unmatched flavour.
In doing so, they have sparked a wider conversation about forgotten ingredients and the importance of preserving culinary traditions rooted in local ecosystems.
Last year, MasterChef Subhojit Sen reignited interest in kucho chingri, calling it “seasonal gold” in a widely shared video. Linking it to winter markets and peyanj koli, he celebrated kucho chingri bora as an instinctive, nostalgic ritual, inspiring home cooks to rediscover the ingredient.
On the other hand, food content creator Real Flavours of Bengal showed a sumptuous recipe of shile bata kucho chingrir bhorta.
This flavour of rural Bengal once again got the spotlight when renowned influencer Oldays Kitchen paired shyapla (water lily stems) and kucho chingri.
It also finds a spot on the menu of Bonne Femme, which serves maaccher kochuri with kucho chingrir alur dum.
How to clean it
The reason phool chingri faded from popularity and never found a spot on the elite table has much to do with effort. Cleaning these tiny shrimp is painstaking and time consuming, a task many urban households moved away from.
To clean them properly, the shrimp are first washed thoroughly under cold running water to remove sand, leaves and debris. It has to be washed multiple times to make sure there is no dirt behind. It is a laborious process, but one that devotees insist is worth every minute.