Balchão or balichow is an

Indian dish Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herb ...

(more specifically

Goan Goans ( kok, गोंयकार, Romi Konkani: , pt, Goeses) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, an ...

and Malvani) consisting of fresh fried prawns in a spicy and vinegary sauce.

Ingredients

Balchão is a method of cooking, made with either fish (''de peixe''), prawns (''de camarão''), or pork (''de porco''), in a spicy and sour tomato-chili sauce. It resembles pickling and can be made days in advance without reheating. Some Goans mak
prawn balchao in tamarind sauce
Traditional balchão uses a paste made from dried shrimp known as '' galmbo'' in Konkani. Its ingredients could include prawns, oil, onions chopped fine, tomatoes, garlic paste or cloves, ginger paste or ginger, dried red chillies, cumin seed, mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, vinegar and salt.

Preparation

The prawns are cleaned and deveined then salted and set aside. The spices are roasted and cooled. Ginger, garlic and roasted spices are ground into a paste with the vinegar. Oil is heated, the prawns are added and fried until opaque. Next, the pan is used to fry onions. Once onions are light brown, tomatoes are added and fried till soft. Spice-vinegar paste is added, with sugar and salt. This is fried until the oil begins to separate from the masala, prawns are added, and the combination is cooked a few more minutes. Balchão is usually served with plain hot boiled rice. It keeps well under refrigeration.

History

Balchão was introduced to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

by the Portuguese during Portuguese Goa, most likely from Malacca (today

Melaka Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

Preparation

Catholic homes may use

coconut vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

for its acidic sharpness, while Hindu families may use

cane vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

to make it milder. It is now common to use

white vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

malt vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

References

Goan cuisine Indian cuisine Indian fusion cuisine Pork dishes Portuguese fusion cuisine Seafood dishes Tomato sauces {{india-food-stub

Ingredients

Preparation

History

Preparation

See also

References