BALCHAO MASALA
A pickle-like blend of ingredients called _balchao_, is crucial to many of Portuguese Goa's meat dishes, and usually incorporates Goa's other passion, _feni_, a potent alcoholic brew made from either cashew nuts or palm fruit. Also omnipresent in Goan dishes is the highly acidic _feni_ vinegar, which reduces the potency of dried red chiles-as does tart tamarind, another key element in this layered, complex, and fiery-hot paste that peppers its way into many of Goa's curries. Unfortunately, neither the alcohol nor the vinegar is available outside of India (maybe even outside of Goa), and so my offering is devoid of both. Nonetheless, it is very flavorful, with cider or malt vinegar standing in as a perfectly acceptable substitute.
Provided by Raghavan Iyer
Yield Makes 1/2 cup
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Pour the vinegar into a blender jar, and then add all the remaining ingredients. Puree, scraping the inside of the jar as needed, until it forms a highly pungent, reddish-brown paste.
- Store the mixture in a tightly sealed nonreactive container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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