If you try to translate caldo where caldinha is a derived from it means broth or soup. Judging by the flavor and lack of spiciness in caldinha it makes sense that it is named aptly. It is spelt in two ways Caldine or Caldinha. If you type Caldinho then you find that it is a Brazilian recipe for a Bean Soup.

This recipe does bring back a lot of memories. When we would visit my father’s family on a small beautiful island called Ilha(Island) de Santo Estevão you can read more about this Island here. Fresh fish was always in abundance and my dad loved this sweet curry specially since he suffers from stomach ulcers and cannot eat very spicy foods.
I think if you like less hotter Indian curries then this is a great recipe. Caldinha is a light yellow-green curry which is made with fish and coconut milk. In Goa, fish like sardines, mackerel, pomfret and king fish are very popular along with other smaller fish. Since it is fall here in the US, I decided to combine it with sweet pumpkin and shrimps and it turned out to be delicious.
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients:
1 lbs of 1″ cubed pumpkin
15-20 cleaned shrimps/prawns
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/4 tsp of ground cumin
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
6 whole cloves
6 garlic cloves
8-10 peppercorn
1 green jalapeno (chili)
1 small diced onion
1 medium tomato diced and sprinkled with a little salt
1/4 tsp of vinegar
1 can of whole coconut milk
1 can – 13.5oz of water
salt to taste

Directions:
* Wash and clean the shrimps/prawns apply salt, vinegar and keep aside.
* Grind the garlic, dry spices and jalapeno along with 1/4 can of coconut milk in a blender.
* In a hot-pot add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes till translucent. Next add the diced tomatoes and saute till soft.
* Add the ground mixture, pumpkin, remaining coconut milk, water mix and cook covered on medium heat for 5 minutes till pumpkin softens.
* Finally add the shrimps, check on salt and cook covered on medium heat for another 5-10 minutes depending how you like your shrimps cooked.

Enjoy with rice or bread. Caldinha keeps well for a couple of days in the refrigerator.
Love pumpkin then check out more recipes for Creme Brulee in Mini Pumpkin and Sauteed Pumpkin Recipe.
I can’t wait for pumpkin season to try this recipe out..I think it will be a big hit with my kids since it is sweet and not too spicy..Thanks for all your great recipes Nandini..Keep ’em coming…I love your passion for our food and culture. Viva.
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Thanks Michelle for your kind words, appreciate it very much :-). I hope you do give it a try. Please let me know how it goes.
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Just came across this recipe…looks lovely. Coincidently I made Shrimp-pumpkin curry a couple of days ago, very similar. Couple of differences were that I pureed half of the pumpkin and also added Harissa to the curry.
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Thanks Anagha and appreciate you sharing your version.
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Yum, pumpkin and shrimp go so well together. When I used to live on the east coast we used to go to this malaysian restaurant and have a similar curry. thanks for reminding me of that. take care
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That is awesome Shamim 🙂
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Sharing this on Facebook
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Thank You so much Dawn, I really appreciate it 🙂
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Yw, ditto for sharing
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Looks fabulous. Will try this soon. Love curry, pumpkin is not something I would have connected with it. Thank you. ☺
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Thank You so much and it is good to know you love curry 🙂
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It looks like I missed this post yet again Nandini, since I am not very good at following The Reader, where all the posts I follow come up. Love caldinha and yours looks fantastic, adding some pumpkin must have given it that nice variation. Will have to make this for sure, and with the cooler weather, this will work a treat. I’m taking a wee break from my cooking posts and now concentrating a bit on Travel. Cheers!
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Thank You Loretta! The pumpkin worked well it gave it some nice sweetness. I know the reader is hard to catchup with sometimes. Will miss you online….but have a great time traveling 🙂
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No, I meant I’m now going to be blogging on travel posts, I have so many great pictures and stories from past travels, so I’m giving cooking a break. 🙂 Actually may just post a caramel bread pudding I made ages ago, and I’d like to tag your site, because you explain the Goan traditions so well. So many of my friends in the USA don’t even know where Goa is. So I’ll mention your site in my post if that’s ok?
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Oh! Sorry I miss understood. Will definitely look forward to reading the post and I bet you will have some great stories 🙂
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Loretta I had read only part of your post in my dashboard when I replied. You sure can link to my site and thank you so much for the mentions. That is very kind of you 🙂
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I love the way you present the ingredients in your photos. Not only does this recipe sound delicious, but I can actually see what goes into it. Nicely done.
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Thank you so much I appreciate your kind words and your observation. It has been my goal to make easy recipes and show a visual of the ingredients used 🙂
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Going to make this as soon as my tummy feels better. Sounds delicious!
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I hope you do get better soon.
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Thanks!
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So much missing cooking and you keep coming up with such exciting and tempting new things. I love pumpkin and they successfully grow from out compost heap to take over the whole backyard like triffids. Love your work! 💚🌷
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Awww….that is so sweet of you to say, guess your lovely comments keep me motivated 😉
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this sounds great – will have to give it a try! Right up our alley! 🙂
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I hope you do enjoy it Sandra, it’s a rich creamy curry.
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This tastes delicious!!!
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Thank You 🙂
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Looks delicious and like something the whole family would like – will definitely try this recipe!
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Thank you Andrea, I hope you all will enjoy it as much as my family did 🙂
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Thanks for the follow! You have an amzing array of recipes. I was aware of Goan culture but I hadn’t known that it was influenced by the Portuguese. I love learning new things!
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You are so welcome. I am happy you found something new 🙂
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😀
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This can be such a yummilicious Halloween treat!
I’m adding some garlic salt instead of garlic cloves, hope it’s fine, as I don’t wanna use garlic here directly…
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Thanks Much Ema, I think it will work 🙂
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Yum. Am going to try this one.
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Thanks! Let me know how it goes 🙂
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Hi Nandini, sounds like a wonderful combination! Nice job. Cheryl
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Thank you so much Cheryl 🙂
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Goan curry is a favourite of mine! Do you think you could substitute a squash or sweet potato for the pumpkin?
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Yes Meaghan you can use any firm or root vegetable you like 🙂
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Looks delish and I love how you incorporated pumpkin for Fall! This is on my list of recipes to try 🙂
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Thank you Brandi! I thought since everyone is excited about pumpkin why not try something new 🙂
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I adore spicy foods and this recipe sounds absolutely delicious. In one of our restaurants – very French – we had a banana chicken curry on the menu and it was one of our best sellers. I would have a small bowl every night .. I never got tired of it. Virginia
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Thank You Virginia, it is so nice to know you had something similar in your restaurant. I agree the smell of this curry is very tempting 🙂
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