Prawns balchao and/or breudher Dutch bread

When we got the Breudher aka Dutch aka Fort Kochi bread from our recent trip to Fort Kochi, we needed to pair it with something. The chettan at the store mentioned it goes well with savoury dishes such as chicken curry, mutton curry as well as with sweet elements such as bananas, peanut butter etc. We decided to try it with a dish that we regularly make - Prawns Balchao. This is based on two recipes - one that I saw by Chef Rego and another similar one on a food blog goya.in. We brought in our own slight modifications such as using Kashmiri chilli powder instead of using dried chillies. This is a goan dish and has a unique ingredient of using coconut or toddy vinegar typically. However some recipes also used regular vinegar.

Ingredients

Prawns

• Prawns, skinned and deveined - 300g
• Salt and turmeric powder - for marination

Aromatics & Base

• Onions, halved and sliced - 2
• Ginger, chopped - 1 inch
• Garlic, chopped - 5 to 6 cloves
• Oil

Whole Spices (for the Mother Paste)

• Jeerakam (cumin) seeds - half tsp
• Cardamoms - 5
• Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
• Cloves - 4 to 5
• Peppercorns - 8 to 10

Powdered Spices & Liquids

• Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Coconut vinegar - 4 tbsp
• Powdered dried prawns - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Fry the Prawns

1. Mix salt and turmeric powder with the prawns.
2. Fry them separately in a pan until cooked.
3. Once cooked, keep them aside.

Step 2: Prepare the Mother Paste

1. In a blender, add all the whole spices — jeerakam, peppercorns, cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves — along with the coconut vinegar and Kashmiri chilli powder.
2. Grind these nicely together till you get a thick red paste.

Step 3: Build the Gravy

1. Add some more oil to the pan and fry up the onions.
2. Before the onions start to brown, add the red mother paste.
3. On high flame, mix the paste into the onions for about 30 to 40 seconds.

Step 4: Finish the Dish

1. Add in the fried prawns and mix well.
2. Adjust the salt. At this stage, add the powdered dried prawns as it enhances the flavour of the dish.
3. Cook for about another minute and you are done.

Conclusion

We enjoyed this with the Breudher bread, however we realised it is much better as a main or side dish with ‘morru’ curry and rice. And Breudher bread is best had with bananas or even by itself!