45: Shrimp Balchao

This is a recipe from a cookbook "Indian Food Made Easy" by Anjum Anand. She really has some lovely recipes and the best part for me "quick" and "easy". The best part about this Goan dish is the combination of spiciness and tanginess.

1 lb peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
3 dried red chillies (use as many as you like, this decides the spice level of the final dish)
2 cloves
1 tsp pepper
1/2 Tbsp mustard seeds
6-7 curry leaves (the original recipe did not have this, I used it as I love the flavor it gives) 
1 small onion peeled and chopped
2 medium tomatoes

1 green chilli, left whole
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1/2 cup water ( I added this to give a slight gravy consistency to the dish, leave out and you will have a relish kind of dish)

Grind the ginger, garlic, red chillies, cloves, pepper, mustard seeds and curry leaves into a fine paste. Heat oil in a pan and fry onions till they are golden brown. Add the tomatoes and whole green chili and saute until the tomatoes are completely mashed and form a nice dark paste. Add water as necessary so that it does not burn. Add the ground paste to this and saute well for 5 minutes until you see oil leaving the sides. Add salt to taste, vinegar and sugar and let it cook for a minute. Add the shrimp and 1/2 cup water and cook for 2-3 minutes. You want to make sure you do not overcook the shrimp.

Serve with warm rice or wheat tortillas.