This has been one of my favourite pickles since childhood. It would typically be made for special occasions and I would wait for it eagerly. Pickled prawns go extremely well with rice or poie, the local Goan bread, or mixed with cream cheese. It is also a surprisingly good topping on crackers for a quick snack. With all those flavours and textures, it was a perfect fit for my book Masala Dabba.
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Serves
4
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Cook Time
00 h 30 m
Ingredients
For Balchao Spice Mix
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 5 dried Kashmiri chillies
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1-inch piece of ginger
- Pinch of saffron
For Prawn Pickle
- 1 cup shelled and deveined baby prawns
- ¼ cup brown palm vinegar
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp pickle masala (any brand)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
Preparation
- Combine all the ingredients for the Balchao spice mix in a blender or processor jar and grind into a smooth paste, without adding any water.
- Heat a frying pan on medium flame. Add onions and salt. Sauté until all the moisture released from the onions has evaporated.
- Pour oil into the pan and continue sautéing the onions until they turn brown.
- Stir in a tablespoon of the freshly-made Balchao spice mix, followed by vinegar and pickle masala. Continue cooking until fragrant.
- Toss in the prawns and cook until they are tender. This should take about a minute.
- Remove from heat. Let it cool down before transferring to a clean, dry jar. Store up to a week.
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