I’m always in search of a better prawn curry than the one I made last time, but the search is over, for a while at least. I’ve made many a good prawn curry along the way, Prawn Jingha Masala, various Keralan prawn curries with coconut milk and fresh curry leaves, prawn Malabar and north Indian masalas, and have finally settled on Prawn Balchao, a prawn curry from Goa. The combination of spice and vinegar makes this gravy really appealing on a cold night. The recipe is relatively simple. Once you’ve made the paste, the rest follows within minutes. During lockdown times, I’ve used frozen prawn cutlets ( large Australian prawns that have been pre-shelled and frozen on board fishing trawlers) and now keep a supply stashed in the freezer especially for this curry.
Prawn Balchao for 2-4 or more with other dishes.
The spice paste
- 8g ginger, peeled
- 15 g garlic, peeled
- 5 dried mild red chillies
- 2 cloves
- 6 peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
The curry
- 2 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 3 tomatoes, finely chopped ( or use canned tomatoes with only a tiny part of the juice- about 3/4 cup)
- 1 green chilli, left whole
- 3-4 tablespoons malt or red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
- 300 g raw prawn meat ( this is the shelled weight)
Make a paste of the ginger, red chillies, and all the spices. I find a large mortar and pestle is the best tool for this job. You can produce a fine paste with a couple of minutes of banging and grinding. A food processor is too large for a paste this small. Add a little water to the paste towards the end to achieve a fine texture.
Heat the oil in a large non stick wok and fry the onion gently until golden. Add the tomatoes and green chilli and fry for about 10-12 minutes over a moderate heat until the mixture becomes a deep red colour. Add a splash of water if the pan becomes dry.
Add the spice paste and fry for 5 minutes until the oil separates. Add the vinegar, sugar and salt. Cook another minute and taste for a balance of flavours. adjust the salt if needed. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes or until cooked through. At this point, if the curry is too dry, you can loosen it with water, or cream. The latter additions are not so authentic, but I like a wet gravy in this curry and so recommend loosening the mixture.
Serve with rice and other lovely sides, with some papadum or naan.
Recipe adapted from Indian Food Made Easy, Anjum Anand. 2007. A very handy little book.
My paternal grandparents lived by and from the sea. My grandfather crafted fishing boats, and my grandmother knitted thick Aran sweaters to sell to the fishermen of Bass Strait. They ate fish daily, had one cow for milk in the early days of their married life, and grew a few vegetables in their back yard. They raised seven children in their tiny wooden house facing the sea: they were poor but their life was simple and healthy. My uncles and great uncles were fishermen in these waters, or spent lonely months operating the lighthouses on the windswept islands of Bass Strait. It is no wonder then, that I am drawn to this coast. I need to smell the sea air, hear the winds and the waves crash, and eat fish straight from the source. The pull is a strong one.
ALMOST ITALIAN 