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Halal-conscious recipe

Shutki shira

Dina Begum's Sylheti shutki shira: dried shrimp, potato, pumpkin, aubergine and spinach cooked in a light, oil-free broth with a whole naga chilli, with a note for readers whose school does not accept shrimp.

  • Cuisine Bangladeshi
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 6 bowls
  • Time 1h 25m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Grilled shrimp on skewers with herbs, beside lemon wedges on a white plate
Photograph from our ingredient library: grilled shrimp, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: Eximiousincorp · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

The stew is built on 80 g of dried shrimp; Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali scholars accept shrimp, but many Hanafi authorities do not treat it as fish. Everything else is vegetables and spices.

Soaked dried shrimp are cooked with onion, garlic, turmeric and chilli in a little water, then potatoes, pumpkin, aubergine and spinach go in with more water in stages, and a whole naga chilli perfumes the broth for the last 10 minutes. There is no oil or fat in it. The one thing to check is the shrimp: many Hanafi authorities do not treat shrimp as fish, so readers who follow them can use dried fish instead (our swap).

It follows Dina Begum's recipe for Great British Chefs, which serves six. She explains that shutki, dried or fermented fish and prawns, is a much-loved Bangladeshi delicacy, and that in the Sylhet region it goes into this stew. If you can't find a fresh naga, the recipe suggests a scotch bonnet.

Serve hot with boiled white rice.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Dried shrimp Shrimp is permitted by many scholars, especially in Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali practice, but many Hanafi authorities do not treat shrimp as fish. Use it if your school accepts shrimp; otherwise use dried fish (our swap). See Shrimp.

Safe substitutes

  • 80 g dried shrimp, if your school does not accept shrimp → 80 g dried fish (our swap; the source describes shutki as dried fish and prawns)

Allergens

crustaceans (dried shrimp)

Ingredients

Stew

  • 80 g dried shrimp (or dried fish, if your school doesn't accept shrimp)
  • 1 small red chilli, ideally naga (or scotch bonnet)
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tbsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 250 g waxy potatoes, in 6 cm pieces
  • 250 g pumpkin or squash, in 6 cm pieces
  • 250 g aubergine, in 6 cm pieces
  • 100 g spinach

Method

  1. Soak and prepare. Soak the dried shrimp in cold water for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and drain. Wash the spinach, roll it up and roughly chop it into 5 cm lengths.
  2. Pierce the chilli. Wearing a glove, as the naga is extremely hot, pierce it once in the middle with a small sharp knife. Don't remove the stem or pierce it too deeply, or it will release too much heat.
  3. Start the broth. Pour 200 ml cold water into a large, deep saucepan and add the onion, garlic, ground spices, salt and shrimp. Cover and cook over a high heat for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway.
  4. Add the potatoes. Add the potatoes and 250 ml water, stir once, cover and cook for 10 minutes over a high heat. Stir again and cook for 5 minutes more.
  5. Add the pumpkin and aubergine. Add the pumpkin and aubergine, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Top up with 800 ml water, cover again and cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Finish with spinach and chilli. Add the spinach and the naga chilli and press them gently under the liquid. Cover and cook for a final 10 minutes, stirring gently and tasting halfway; take out the naga at that point if you want less heat.
  7. Serve. Check the pumpkin is cooked through, then serve hot with boiled white rice.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from Great British Chefs' 'Shutki shira – Bangladeshi dried shrimp stew' by Dina Begum, who explains that shutki is dried or fermented fish and prawns and that in the Sylhet region it goes into this dish (serves 6; easy; 60 minutes in total: 80 g dried shrimp soaked 30 minutes in cold water, rinsed and drained; 100 g spinach washed and cut into 5 cm lengths; a small naga chilli (or scotch bonnet) pierced once; ½ small chopped onion, 4 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tsp turmeric, ½ tbsp chilli powder, 1 tsp salt and the shrimp cooked 10 minutes, covered, over a high heat in 200 ml water; 250 g waxy potatoes in 6 cm pieces and 250 ml water, 10 minutes, then 5 more; 250 g each pumpkin (or squash) and aubergine in 6 cm pieces, 2 minutes, then 800 ml water and 5 minutes; the spinach and naga pressed under the liquid and cooked 10 minutes, tasting halfway and removing the naga for less heat; served with boiled white rice). It uses no oil or fat. We flagged the shrimp by school; dried fish is our swap for readers whose school does not accept shrimp, since the source describes shutki as dried fish and prawns. The published steps are followed in order. Great British Chefs gives the total time only; we split it from the method into 10 minutes of preparation and 45 of cooking, with the 30-minute soak as rest. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Shutki shira – Bangladeshi dried shrimp stew — Great British Chefs Retrieved:

    By Dina Begum, who places it in the Sylhet region. Serves 6, easy, 60 minutes in total: soaked dried shrimp cooked with onion, garlic and spices in water, then potatoes, pumpkin and aubergine, then spinach and a whole naga chilli, with water added in stages and no oil. We flagged the shrimp by school.

  2. Shrimp analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Why scholars differ on shrimp.

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