Lau Chingri ( Bottle gourd with Prawns)

Long long time ago, when I had no appreciation for Bottle gourd, this was still one dish I'll like to have with rice. It was a delicacy then, as prawns were elusive and we got to eat it only during wedding feast or special occasions when someone could procure it from the bazaars of Delhi and there was enough to make priority prawns dishes first and lau chingri was only an after thought.
It took me quite a while to appreciate sweetness in my veggies, dal, fish and meat. Traditionally West Bengal cuisine sweetness is critical some family over do this by adding sugar to the dishes. A sweet tasting potato samosa that I had when I visited Kolkata in my early teens made me weary and nervous.
Even in my recent trips to Kolkata, family meals as well as eating out have been a struggle, with dishes generously doused with sugar otherwise known to be savory tasting all my life.
I now realize that what makes Bengali cuisine popular in recent times has been this blend of sweetness in a given dish, the amount added and the time of addition is critical, primarily role of sugar is to get a natural caramelized taste and colour in your meat,rice,fish and certain vegetable preparation... some vegetables calls for a pinch of sweetness as they are often sweet to taste in its natural form (bottle gourd is an example) to me the rest the dishes are made sweet as it's addictive and the salt tolerance for most of the bongs (particularly the people from west Bengal) is less. So from dal to Chutney to the fish jhol to the sondesh all will have a varied degree of sweetness to it.

Lau Chingri is a dish which is indeed sweet and creamy, the lau adds the mushy, creamy quality to the dish while chingri gives the flavor and both are sweet which becomes a common factor that holds the dish.
Bottle Gourd, diced into cubes, about half an inch. Boil it with a pinch of salt and keep it aside.
Chingri or Prawns, you don't have to worry about the size the smallest of them will work, the meat is not important here its the flavor!
Coconut milk, I made my own by adding half cup milk to 4 generous spoonful of grated coconut, I added half a tea spoon of sesame seeds to this, it adds body to the milk you can even try adding few chasewnuts blend it in a mixie and stain the milk.
Whole red chilly, Musturd seeds for tempering
Ghee + Vegetable Oil as medium, stir frying the chingri in ghee makes a huge difference!
In a shallow pan add oil and temper it with red whole chili and mustard, add the boiled and diced bottle gourd and let it simmer in high flame for a bit so the extra water for the gourd is vaporised, to this add a spoonful of ghee and add the chingri , let the fish redden and curl up but do not over cook. It's best to use a lid and cook so that the prawns does not loose its juices.
Add a pinch of salt and a generous amount of sugar to this,(a tea spoon is generous amount for me) you can add a pinch of red chili powder as well. Close the lid and cook for a few. Finally add the coconut milk and lower the heat let it simmer for a minute till you a get a nice gravy consistency and the juices should blend in well with lau and the chigri.
Add a small dollop of ghee again before serving and add diced fried coconut as a garnish.