Malvan cuisine is a cross between Maharashtrian and Goan cuisine. Seafood and chicken are its predominant dishes, not that vegetables aren’t part of their repertoire. It will be unusual if you have’t heard of the popular Malvani bottle masala where spices and chillies are pounded into fine powder which is stored in “bottles” or airtight glass jars all the year through. This is where the term “bottle masala” earns its name and is used liberally in their typical Malvani chicken kadi or paaplet saar among others.
My early memories of East Indian cuisine lie in its vegetarian preparations like usal-pao which I recall gorging on during picnics at Gorai and Uttan beaches of East Indian predominance. If you visit the locals, you may just about get to enjoy its phanasachi bhaji and komadi vade.
It was from an organic spice dealer, Parab, that I managed to obtain this finger-licking recipe for squid masala. Am glad I decided to puchases organic black pepper from Parab who is the source of this delightful gravy story. It is evident that he trades recipes for the products he sells – whole pepper, bay leaves and dry coconut. Use these ingredients – fresh from Ratnagiri organic farms – and you can bet your dish will be a winner.
He recounted the ingredients, in a modest manner typical of a Konkan local, missing out a few measures here and there. I went back and forth to get a comprehensive picture. Getting the right recipe was important as I ddin’t want to chance losing my squid purchase to a somewhat skewed recipe. Besides, squids aren’t easily available in the present scenario much less the quality/size of one’s choice.
While on the topic of squids, I must bring Fish Boat – a Khar based fish supplier – into the picture too. The squids supplied by them came all the way from Khar, decently sized, fresh and well cleaned. I chose the medium sized squid from the wata lot, leaving the large squids aside for stuffing on a separate day. The recipe for stuffed squids will follow in due course, but for now let’s put down this scrumptious squid masala recipe.
Malvan East Indian Squid Masala Recipe
Ingredients
Malvan East Indian Squid Masala Recipe - Ingrdients
- 1 wata squids (or 1/2kg squids, partly sliced in rings, partly whole, tentacles separated)
- 15-16 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 tsp aniseeds (saunf)
- 4 cloves
- ¾ inch cinnamon
- 20 whole black peppercorns
- 2-3 green chillies
- ¾ cup grated coconut (fresh) (dry coconut preferred)
- 2 onions (sliced)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 tsp red chilli powder (Kashmiri preferred)
- ¾ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 lime sized ball of tamarind (soaked in warm water to make thick pulp)
- 2-3 tbsp refined oil (or as requied)
- ⅓ cup water (warm/hot water)
Instructions
Malvan East Indian Squid Masala Recipe - Preparation
- Roast the garlic, ginger, aniseeds, whole spices, coconut, chillies and onions separately. Let cool.
- Grind the roasted ingredients to a medium paste, not too fine yet not too coarse. Remove the ground masala and keep ready for use in the gravy.
- In a pan (I used a Japanese non-stick pan) heat some oil and saute a couple of bay leaves.
- Quickly add the ground masala paste and fry on medium flame, till the oil separates. Fry it patiently, lowering the flame when reequired as the taste lies in how well the masala is fried.
- Add the red chilli and turmeric powders and stir for a minute.
- Now add the chopped squid, tamarind pulp, and just enough water to allow it to cook till done. Close the lid while cooking, checking it intermittenly. Then leave the lid partially open to cook the squid further and reduce the water to a thick gravy.
- Serve with hot steamed rice, or pair with East Indian bread.
Video
Hailing from Goa, I’d swear by Goan cuisine alone, but when I sampled this masala gravy, I couldn’t help but commend the East Indian stamp on this homemade secret.
You may use the recipe for shrimps, shelfish and similar crustaceans. If using chicken, the only difference in lies in marinating the chicken meat with curd and following the same recipe steps as above.
4 Comments
Looks yummy. Konkan cuisine; the best of two world’s for any Goan living in Mumbai or vice versa.
Thanks very much Ashley!
Tried and tested so can say for sure it sure is finger- licking.
Yeah, plus and minus a few ingredients and the recipe can be less than finger licking!