Mangalorean Specialities, Seafood Dishes
Mangalorean Style- Masala Fried Squid/ Calamari.
This is one of my favourite Seafood.
I remember as a child when I accompanied mom to the fish market in her home town, eating squid was unheard of… it was either thrown away, given for free or taken for cat food. Journeying to the present….it is a delicacy in most fish loving countries…hmmmm
The piquant and heavenly aroma of frying squid with the meet mirsang/ chilli paste is enough to make me drool. The distinct aroma of the curry leaves used in this recipe is irreplaceable. The trick with calamari is to flash fry it, that is cook it on a high heat for a very short time. This brings out its lovely texture. Overcooking it makes it rubbery.
To make masala fried squid you will need:
Ingredients:
Squid-1 large squid
Mangalore Meet Mirsang paste
Onion finely sliced -1 medium size
Curry leaves- 12 leaves
Coconut /any other vegetable oil to fry.
To make quick and simple Mangalore Meet Mirsang/ Chilli paste:
Kashmiri or Bedagi Chilli powder- 2 tsps
Cumin Powder- 1tsp
Tumeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Vinegar- 1tbsp
Salt to taste.
Method:
1. Take all masala ingredients in a bowl, add water to make a shiny paste. Do not make runny or too thick.
2. Clean the tube and tentacles of the squid well. Dry with paper towels. Slice the tube into 1/2 inch thick rings (remove the film inside the body)
3. Marinate cleaned squid with the paste for minimum 10 minutes to maximum 1/2 hour.
4. To fry: In a hot tawa heat sufficient vegetable or coconut oil ( 3-4 tbsps) . Place onion and curry leaves into the oil and fry till onion turns golden brown. Then turn up the heat to high and carefully add the squid in a single layer over the top of the onions, toss the squid about on high heat for a minute or two till just done. (Add more oil as require to prevent the masala burning). As soon as the squid starts turning appearance from translucent to opaque/white, it is done. Take off the heat. Overcooking will make the squid rubbery.
Masala fried squid is ready. Serve along with drinks or as an accompaniment with rice and Daalisosaar.
