A pickle popular in Annie’s family—whose recipe is a specialty of her grandmother’s kitchen—‘pada’ harks back to the Portuguese tradition of pickling meats in vinegar, paprika, and salt. The Portuguese relied on it during their long sea voyages. Since pada has a short shelf life, it should be refrigerated for long-term use. However, it tastes best when eaten fresh, sans any refrigeration.
| Medium-sized prawns, deshelled and deveined | 1½ kilograms |
|---|---|
| Turmeric powder | 1½ teaspoons |
| Salt | To taste |
| Oil | For frying |
| Garlic, peeled | 4 pods, large |
| Cumin seeds | 2 tablespoons |
| Paprika or mild chilli powder | 4 tablespoons |
| Vinegar | As required |
What You Will Need
Mixing bowl, deep-bottomed pan or kadhai, mixer grinder, saucepan, glass jars.
Instructions
In a clean bowl, marinate the prawns with a mixture of turmeric powder and about 1 teaspoon of salt.
In a deep-bottomed pan or a kadhai, heat some oil on a medium flame.
Deep-fry the prawns for approximately 7-8 minutes or until fully cooked. Remove, drain off the excess oil, and keep aside.
Grind the remaining ingredients together with about a half a cup of vinegar in a mixer grinder until a smooth paste-like consistency is achieved.
In a clean saucepan, strain about half a cup of frying oil, to use for sautéing the ground spices. Heat this oil on a medium flame.
Once hot, add the ground spice paste and allow it to cook until the oil fully separates from the mixture.
Then add the prawns and some more vinegar. Mix well and allow the pada to boil for 1-2 minutes. At this stage, adjust the salt and vinegar according to personal preference, if needed.
Cool the pada and pour into dry glass jars for storage.
Tips
The salt and vinegar additions in this recipe rely heavily on personal preferences and intuitive-based cooking. It is best to use your tastebuds while adding in these two ingredients.
This recipe was published in ‘Eating with History: Ancient Trade-Influenced Cuisines of Kerala’ by Tanya Abraham, published by Niyogi Books India (2020). Read an excerpt from the book here.Â
The cover image has been captured by Derwin Edwards (sourced via Pexels)
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