Dried Prawn Balchao

Cleaning out my mother's kitchen pantry produced a jar of dried prawns, a product which I have never used before.  I immediately called my mother to ask what she would suggest I could make with the prawns.  My mum got emotional as she reminisced about who had gifted her the prawns all the way from Goa.  Finally she suggested I make a dried prawn balchao.
I  searched around for an appealing recipe with dried prawns and finally found this one which I tried out.  It was simple, tasty and devoured with pilau for Saturday dinner.  I think I will try this recipe with fresh prawns the next time.

This recipe was adapted from Cookipedia

Ingredients

1 cup dried shrimps

1 large onion finely chopped

3 heaped teaspoons fresh ginger minced

6 heaped teaspoons fresh garlic minced

2 heaped tablespoons tomato paste

1/3 cup olive oil or other vegetable oil

1 teaspoon black jeera/cumin  (nigella seeds)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 level teaspoons chili powder ( add more if you like it hotter)

2 teaspoons full sea salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup vinegar (red wine vinegar, or Goa vinegar if available)

Method

The Goan dried shrimps I used from my mother's pantry were of a very good quality - heads removed and tails as well, and clean. They were also unsalted.  If the type you use is salted, do not add any salt.  You can always add more salt to the finished product if needed.  I would recommend using an unsalted version.

Boil water and pour enough water over the shrimps to cover them.  Leave aside for about 1 hour to soften. Drain.

Roughly chop the the shrimp, leaving some whole.  Do not mince the shrimp. Keep aside.

Add the chili powder, salt, pepper and turmeric to the tomato paste. Mix well.  Keep aside.

Heat the oil. 

When hot add the nigella seeds, onion, garlic and ginger.

Fry until lightly browned. 

Add the tomato paste mixture. Lower the heat and mix till well blended.  Let it cook slightly for a few minutes.

Add the prepared shrimps, vinegar and sugar.  Stir well. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir and watch so it does not stick to the bottom or burn.

Taste and add more salt if needed.

Enjoy with rice.  You can refrigerate the remainder or bottle. There was not much left over after dinner at my place, so I just refrigerated the left-overs.
Note: I loved it as a spread on white buttered bread - sinful but delicious!