Prawns Balchaun

My dear hubby has a never ending love for prawns. He can eat them three times a day everyday and in any way you make them (theory not tested). Whenever I ask him what he wants for dinner I don’t even have to wait for his answer as I know what it is going to be. Not that I make him prawns every time he asks for them (who is going to sit and clean the buggers all the time) but I do include it in the menu at least twice a month. At my in laws place and surrounding places back in India they make a paste out of red chilies which is applied to fish which is then fried. This same paste is used for prawns as well and I cook the prawns along with garlic and tomato. Tired of making them the same (although very tasty) way every time I searched the net for a new recipe. I got this recipe on Shilpa’s website (check it out to get some detail on the dish and its origin) and loved it as I love anything with ketchup in it.. hehehe.. I did reduce the number of red chilies when I made it again as the first time I made this I was literally on fire. The vinegar gives it a tangy taste and this is a great dish for any sweet and sour lovers out there. In the original recipe the prawns are fried and then added to the gravy but since I am on a diet (ahem) I just sautéed them in a tablespoon of olive oil. Also, I added more water to it to get gravy since we were having this with rice. Any way you make it is a great dish that can be served with rice or chapattis.

Recipe Source – Aayi’s Recipes

Ingredients - Serves 4

2 cups Prawns (Shelled and De-veined)

1 Tsp Turmeric Powder

For The Paste

10 Peppercorns 10

8 Cloves Garlic

1 Tsp Cumin Seeds

1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds

4 Red chilies

6 Cloves

2 1/2 cm Cinnamon Stick

2 cm Piece of Ginger

For The Gravy

1 Cup Chopped Tomato

1 Cup Chopped Onion

1 Cup Tomato Ketchup

2 Tsp White Vinegar

Salt To Taste

Coriander Leaves For Garnish

1 Tbsp Oil  

1. Apply turmeric to the cleaned prawns and keep aside.
2. Grind all the ingredients for the paste with a little water.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the prawns till fully cooked. Remove from pan and add the remaining oil to the same pan. Sauté the onions and once transparent add the ground paste and stir to evaporate any water in the paste.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook till soft.
5. Add the ketchup, prawns and salt (at this point you can add water if you want more gravy), mix well and cover with a lid.
6. Let the prawns absorb the flavors for a minute, remove the lid and add the vinegar. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.
7. Garnish with coriander.

Happy Eating!!