Delicious Prawn and Lady’s Finger Curry

Lady’s Finger Caldinho with Prawns

This prawn and lady’s finger curry is a coconut milk-based curry that is delicious but only mildly spiced. This Portuguese origin curry is called a caldinho, or caldine, which is its more popular Konkani name.

The most important ingredient in this lady’s finger curry with prawns is coconut milk. It is the coconut milk that gives the curry or caldinho its creamy texture and delicious taste. Goa’s classic caldinho is usually made with prawns or fish or else with a mix of seafood and a local vegetable. Lady’s fingers or bhendi is a popular choice of vegetable for caldine. The recipe presented here can be modified to make it with only lady’s fingers or only prawns.

The iconic Goan caldinho is loved by all – by grown-ups and children. And everyone invariably ends up relishing a second helping. So whether you choose to make a lady’s finger caldinho, or one with just prawns, or perhaps a mix of both as in this video, you’ll surely be glad you gave this recipe a shot. It’s that tasty! And not difficult to make at all.

A spicier Goan curry is Jeerem Meerem, one of the few Goan curries made without any coconut. But like most Goan curries, it’s full of flavour. It would be worth checking it out.

Ingredients

25 medium size prawns

250g lady’s fingers or bhendi

1 ½ cup grated fresh coconut

2 green chillies (slit lengthwise)

3 green chillies chopped

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp turmeric powder

6 garlic cloves (medium size)

1 ½” piece of ginger

1 medium-size onion finely chopped

1 marble-size ball of tamarind

1 tbsp vinegar

1 to 1 ½ tsp sugar

Salt to taste

3 tbsp oil

For marinating the prawns

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sour lime juice

Procedure

1. Wash and wipe the lady’s fingers dry. Then chop them int 2″ long pieces.
2. Marinate the prawns by mixing them with the salt and lime juice. Set aside for around 20 – 30 minutes.
3. Soak the tamarind in around ¼ cup of warm water for extracting tamarind pulp.
4. Extract spiced coconut milk after grinding the coconut, chopped green chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, turmeric powder, garlic, and ginger. Extract 1 cup of thick milk first. Then grind everything again (twice) and extract around 1 ½ cup thin coconut milk.
5. Heat the oil in a cooking pot / vessel. Add in the prawns avoiding the small amount of marinade in the bowl. (This will be added to the curry later on.)
6. Sauté the prawns on medium heat for around a minute till they turn pinkish in colour. Remove them to a dry dish.
7. Now let the oil continue heating for a minute so any water released by the prawns can evaporate.
8. Then throw in the slit green chillies. Fry them in the oil and then add in the chopped onion. Sauté it on medium heat till it begins to brown.
9. Next, add in the lady’s fingers and stir them till they’re well coated with the oil. Fry them for around 2 minutes and then stir in the tamarind extract.
10. Add the thin coconut milk, stir everything, cover the vessel and let the lady’s fingers cook for around 5-6 minutes till they’re almost cooked.
11. Then add in the prawns and the marinade liquid. Stir everything and add a little water if necessary.
12. Cover the vessel and let the prawns and the lady’s fingers cook for another 3 – 4 minutes. (Prawns need just a few minutes to cook.)
13. Add the vinegar, ½ tsp of salt, and 1 tsp sugar. Stir the curry, lower the heat to low, and then pour in the thick coconut milk. Stir everything again and let the caldine / caldinho simmer for a minute.
14. Finally, adjust the taste of the caldine if necessary, adding more salt, sugar, or vinegar, or even a tsp or so of crushed green chillies if the curry needs more heat. I had to add in just ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of sugar to adjust the taste.
15. Let the caldine simmer for one more minute and then take it off the stove.

Enjoy!