Prawn Balchao (Goan Pickle-Style Hot Prawns)

Name: Prawn Balchao (Goan Pickle-Style Hot Prawns)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 kg small to medium-sized prawns, uncooked (cleaned and de-veined); 4 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 large onions, chopped fine; 3 large tomatoes, chopped fine; 2 sprigs curry leaves; 2 tablespoons garlic paste; 1 tablespoon ginger paste; 10 dried red chilies; 2 teaspoons black peppercorns; 1 tablespoon cumin seed; 1 teaspoon turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds; 2 inches cinnamon sticks; 10 cloves; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1/2 cup vinegar; salt

Submitted by Tea Girl

"This is a fiery, sweet and sour and wonderful dish from Goa. This recipe is partly taken from a friend's cookbook that she copied for me when I raved about the dish. I find that this dish is best the next day. If you don't like as much heat, cut down on the peppers and if you don't like much sour, cut the vinegar in half."

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Ready In:: 40mins
Ingredients:: 17
Serves:: 6

ingredients

1 kg small to medium-sized prawns, uncooked (cleaned and de-veined)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped fine
3 large tomatoes, chopped fine
2 sprigs curry leaves
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
10 dried red chilies
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 inches cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
2 tablespoons sugar
¹⁄₂ cup vinegar
salt

directions

Put the prawns in a large bowl and sprinkle salt on them. Keep aside.
Roast the chillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, turmeric, cloves and cinnamon till they begin to release their aroma.
Remove from heat and cool.
Grind the ginger, garlic and roasted spices into a smooth paste using the vinegar.
Heat the oil on a medium flame in a wok-style pan to medium-high heat.
Add the prawns and stir fry till opaque. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
In the same pan, fry the onions till light brown. Add the tomato and curry leaves and fry until the tomatoes are soft.
Now add the spice-vinegar paste, sugar and salt to taste and fry till the oil begins to separate.
Add the prawns to this sauce, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Serve with plain boiled rice and/or naan.

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Reviews

Just wondering ... why do you cook the prawns first, remove from pan, and then add them back to the pan for the last few minutes? Couldn't you just add them at the end and cook until they were done? Just curious if there's a reason it's done this way.

Eddie C.
This didn't make it to the next day, but it was fabulous the moment it came from the stove top! I followed the idea to cut down on the chili and vinegar, and we both loved it. Will make this again for sure, and then I'll try how it is the next day :) Thanks for sharing! Made for PAC Spring 2014

Mia in Germany

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Tea Girl

Thanks in advance if you are making any of my recipes, and I hope that you like them as I do. I grew up in the US, but I have spent most of the last few years in Europe now live in Germany, with my German husband. Much of the time that I have lived in Europe, I have lived in international student housing so I have lived with and cooked with people from all over world. I have also have had to learn to improvise a bit because it isn't always easy to get the foods I miss from the US here. My husband is a good cook and likes to cook when he has time, but he quite often makes what he knows, mainly German food. So I am the one feeding him strange things. :D My husband has recently taken up hunting so I am having to learn how to cook game: wild boar, deer, hares and geese are the most common things hunted here. It isn't easy to find things for wild boar so I am trying to publish ones that I find that we really liked. I like Recipezaar because I can easily find recipes for whatever I am in the mood, or whatever I happen to have laying around when I am too lazy to walk to the supermarket. :) I like trading tips with the people at the Asian and the German/Benelux forums, I lurk there mostly, but post when I have questions or think that I can help. My reviews are mainly 4 or 5 stars because I won't try anything that I don't think that I will like. 5 stars is it was great, will make again, only very minor changes were made, if any. 4 stars is it was very good, will probably make again, made some changes to adjust to my taste. 3 stars is it was okay, probably won't make again but I didn't really mind eating it. I haven't had anything here that I thought was lower than that, which is good with how picky I am. I'll try most new things if it sounds good, but I am not afraid to say if I don't like it. I quite often make my own recipes out of some of the ones I find here, and don't post recipe reviews if I radically changed it.

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