Clams Sukka A Dry Curry.

Kubbe Sukke / Clams Dry Curry / Shell Fish Dry Curry .....

This is one of the best sukka recipe of clams that I got from my neighbour during my teens. The meaning of Sukka in Southern Indian language is dry. That is how the curry turns out finally. I simply loved the way Susheela-mai cooked it coarsely and had made it a point to note down the recipe immediately. More than 30 years have passed, She is no more, but her curry still lives in my heart. I have tried my level best in getting it right over the years and I am sure all of you will also like it. Please do try it out if you love shell fish. Please do remember to grind the masala coarsely as mentioned at grinding stage. 

You will need about 3-4 cups of Kubbe / shell fish / clams for this dry curry. Clean the kubbe / clams in plenty of water. There is always sand in these and are tedious to clean. There are 3 ways of opening the kubbe / clams. 

The First Method is to cut open the clams with a sharp knife. But you have to be careful in doing it as you may hurt yourself if not aware of handling it properly. You can watch some You tube demo for the same which will help you to exactly understand the method of preparing the clams. Retain the shell in which the flesh is stuck and discard the other one. 

Now the Second Method is the easier one which I follow. Just put the whole kubbe / clams in a broad vessel and add one cup of water. Put it on heat, the minute the water starts to get hot and before reaching boiling point the shells crack up. Immediately remove it from fire and allow to cool properly. When able to handle the shells remove the empty shell and discard them. Do not throw away the water in which the kubbe / clams were cooked. Pass it through a fine sieve or cloth (I use cloth) to strain off the sand particles if any. This cooked water can be used while grinding the masala and also if necessary to add to the cooking curry. Just do not add more water while cooking the shells or else the water will go waste as we do not need much of it. One cup for 3-4 cups of shell fish is more than enough. Just rinse the retained shells and use it in cooking. Simple.

The Third and the Easiest Method of all is .... This method I edited on 2nd Feb. 2017 and which I will be following hence forth as it is very easy without any hazels ..... Just wash the kubbe / clams / shell fish in plenty of water. Drain off all excess water and put them in a thick plastic / polythene and fold over tightly. Put this in deep freezer over night or for a day. Remove the frozen shell fish and put them in a wide dish and pour room temperature water to the vessel to brim level. Cover and keep it aside for an hour. When you check later on you will find that all the shells would have opened up by themselves. Wash in plenty of water taking care to see that you rinse off all the sand that is within the shells. You may retain this as it is or remove off one of the shell that is empty and use them. Rest method as per the requirement of the recipe. This I came about accidentally recently, when i stored it freezer and put it into vessel as said above. When opened I saw that the shells has opened up well. So I have edited this method at a later on date. 

For the Masala : Fry in 1 tsp of oil 2 tblsp of coriander seeds, 1 tsp of jeera seeds, ½ tsp of fennel seeds, 8-10 peeled and chopped garlic, 15-20 red kashmiri chillies, ¼ tsp of haldi powder for 4-5 minutes. Remove and grind to a paste. Do not make the paste very fine. Now add 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut and further grind till you get a coarse textured masala. Remove and keep it aside ready.

Heat 2-3 tsp of oil in a kadai, when hot add 2-3 peeled and finely chopped garlic and fry till they change colour slighly. Now add in one large onion chopped finely. Fry till both garlic and onion turns brown in colour. Immediately add in the retained kubbe / clams with flesh, add some water that was strained and kept while cooking. And let cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Now add in the coarsely ground masala, salt to taste and mix well. Add water only if necessary. The dish is should be dry. It is called sukka meaning dry in southern language. The masala should get stuck inside the shells and look like stuffed clams. Serve with dal-chawal / roit or any other items as side dish. Goes well with panpole / neer dosa too.