Angelica D’Lima’s Legendary Prawn Balchão

Traditionally balchão is a tangy prawn pickle. This is my grandmother Angelica D’Lima’s recipe which my mother had to coax out of the old lady’s long serving maid and confidante. Her balchão was legendary in the village of Aldona where she lived and she shared the recipe with no one.

Read more about Karen Anand’s family traditions here.

 Recipe: Prawn Balchão

Serves: 6

Ingredients
1 kg raw medium white prawns, cleaned and de-veined (about 40 pieces)
2 tbsp salt
4 cups oil
6 inches ginger, chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
25 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup sugar
1 cup natural vinegar (toddy/coconut/malt)
2 tbsp dried prawns, roasted and powdered
4-6 green chillies slit lengthwise

Masala (ground to a fine paste)
30 dry red Kashmiri chillies (washed well)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp whole black pepper
*1 cup toddy or malt vinegar

Method
Mix the prawns with the salt and keep aside for 20 minutes. This will draw out any excess water. Drain and pat dry.
Heat half the oil and fry the prawns for 3-4 minutes only. Keep aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a big cooking pot. Fry onions, ginger and garlic until golden.
Add masala paste and fry for a further 10-15 minutes on low heat until the masala is cooked and comes away from the edges.
Add fried prawns, sugar, dried powdered prawns and the vinegar. Stir and add slit green chillies. 
Cook for around 7-10 minutes. Cool. Traditionally small prawns are used but I often make this with large ones and serve it warm as a main course.

 Image credit: Gousto Cookbook

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