Goan Prawn Balchao || Goan Prawn Pickle

 Goan Prawn Balchao || Goan Prawn Pickle

Prawn Balchao is a  sweet, spicy and tangy pickle made mostly in the summer months and enjoyed through the monsoons with rice,sorak etc. It is a great side to any meal like most  pickles, uses a combination of spices to preserve the shrimp/prawn .It can be kept in a nice .dark pantry as it was traditionally stored or refrigerated too..keep in mind .like all pickles ..just like our nanas warned us.do not put a wet/damp spoon in the pickle jar or the pickle will spoil,also take a little out a day and store the rest away in a the jar....please do try out this traditional recipe and let me know what you think of it....

Ingredients

1/2 Cup of deveined & washed prawns medium sized(20-30)

2 medium onions chopped very fine

7-8 Red Dried Red chillies

2 light green chillies slit lenghtwise

7-8 fresh curry leaves(optional but it really adds to the flavour)

10 cloves of garlic chopped fine

1/2 inch of ginger chopped fine

2 tsp of sugar

6 tsp of vinegar

salt to taste

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp of pepper corns

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

3/4 cup of oil

method

Grind together the dried red chillies,cumin seeds,peppercorns,ginger ,garlic along with  the vinegar to a very fine paste .Transfer this paste to a bowl,add the turmeric powder to the paste & mix well.

Heat the oil in a pan,Once the oil is hot add the finely chopped onions,Fry the onions till translucent,Add the green chillies,cut into halves,fry the chillies well too,Add the curry leaves,fry well,Add the ground paste ,fry the paste well for a whole 5 mins on a low to medium flame.

Add salt to taste as well as the sugar,mix well,Give the mixture a taste to adjust the tastes as per your liking,Add the prawns,mix well,Our Balchao is ready,let it cool completely before transfering it to a clean & dry glass bottle with an airtight lid.

You can have this immediately,but it tastes better after a week.Store this bottle in a cool dark place like a pantry or kitchen cupboard,No need to refrigerate it ,you can refrigerate it after 20 days,'The only precaution you need to take is that to use a completely dry spoon,no water/moisture should come in contact with the Balchao.

To see my video of how I prepare this recipe as well as how I devein prawns click on the picture below

Thankyou

Lots of love

Akshata