How to make Goan Pork Balchao, April 2024

Today I’m cooking a very traditional Goan recipe for a pork dish which we all enjoy a lot - the famous pork balchao. Pork balchao can be made into a preserve. It can also be made for everyday meal which is how I’m going to be making it today. Pork balchao should always be eaten after ageing it for 3-4 days at least.

My recipe is based on Alves Fernandes’ pork balchao recipe: https://deliciousmemorieswithalves.wo...

For my dish, I will be cooking with 1½ kilos of boneless pork and I adjusted the quantities of ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients:
1½ kg pork boneless, washed and patted dry
3 medium onions, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 sprigs of curry leaves
5 green chilies, finely chopped
20 gms jaggery/ sugar
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup of vinegar
2 scant tablespoons of dry galmo, or prawns powder, or ¼ cup Balchao Preserve

Balchao Masala Ingredients:
25 Kashmiri chilies
24 cloves of garlic
1½ inch ginger
1 scant teaspoon turmeric powder
1½ heaped teaspoons cumin seeds
2 inch cinnamon stick
36 peppercorns
20 cloves
1 cup of vinegar

Notes:
*Keep in mind that the measurements of vinegar, salt and jaggery are approximate. At the end of cooking, you will adjust each of these, so use a lighter hand to start with
**To make his balchao, Alves uses ¼ cup Balchao Preserve, but I don’t have balchao preserve, so I am following his suggestion of substituting it with 2 tablespoons of dry galmo, or prawns

Method:
Season the pork well with two teaspoons of salt

Grind all the balchao masala ingredients in one cup of coconut vinegar till smooth

If needed, powder the cleaned dried galmo, or prawns

Take a suitable pan for frying, to sear the salted pork

Heat 2 teaspoons oil on a high flame. When hot, add the pork pieces and sear till just turning brown. Stir frequently and fry to ensure the pieces are evenly seared. I seared the pork in two batches. It took about 7-8 minutes for each batch

Strain the oil remaining in the pan. We will cook the pork balchao in this oil

Add the strained oil to a heavier pan, big enough to hold all the pork. When the oil is hot, fry the sliced garlic till it starts turning brown, which takes not even 1 minute

Add the chopped green chillies and then the curry leaves. Give them a quick mix and add the chopped onions. Fry the onions till they turn translucent. It takes about 5 minutes

Now add the ¼ cup of Balchao Preserve or the 2 scant tablespoons of dry galmo, or prawns powder. Give it a quick mix, then add the balchao masala. Incorporate the masala well into the onions

Use the remaining ½ cup of vinegar to wash out any masala left in the mixer, and add it to the pan

Then add the seared pork pieces, and mix them very well into the masala. Each piece should have the red colour masala

Once the pork is nicely coated in masala, add 1½ cups of water, and stir well. Skip this water step if you are making the balchao as a preserve. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Don’t open and stir in between. Leave the pork covered so that it releases its oil

After 15 minutes, open and stir in jaggery powder. Use only one teaspoon and when you adjust the salt later, adjust jaggery also, if needed

Cover again and cook till the pork is done, about half an hour on low heat. Again, resist the temptation to open the pan and see what’s happening. Let the pork work its magic on its own

After 30 minutes on low heat, check if the pork is done and also for salt, vinegar and sweetness. After tasting, the balance of salt, sour, sweet and chilli was perfect. So I did not add the other teaspoon of jaggery. The pork texture is quite good but Roma and I prefer it softer, so I will give it another 5 minutes covered

Leave the Goan pork balchao to cool completely. Then it’s ready for packing and putting away to mature. I am going to store this pork balchao for 3 days in the fridge, for the pork to pickle nicely in the oil and spices, before serving it as a curry for dinner. That’s why I like to use a deep plastic bread box because it makes sure that the pork is under oil at all times

Thanks once again, Mr Alves Fernandes, for a lovely recipe. My family really enjoyed it

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