“Shell Fish (Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo/ Tisrya/ Shimplya) Masala Curry” … a nostalgic dish with memories from teenage days when I relished khubbo often in my neighbor's home ... this is a delicious Manglorean fish curry prepared either with kurlo (crab) or khubbo (shell fish) ... tastes awesome served with ukde sheetHa or plain rice ... tastes equally good served with panpolo (neer dosa)/ ghee rice/ kori rotti/ Oondi/ medium spiced pulav etc. do try it ... Yummilicious …
** It has been quite some time since I posted fish dishes especially the ones with Khubbo/ Clams. As I mentioned it is difficult to get good ones in my vicinity and you have to tell them two days prior to buying and I somehow always forget as I never plan ahead the dishes. So today since she had good one’s I bought the same and here is a famous Mangalorean dish prepared often either with khubbo ie Clams/ Marvai/ shell fish or with crabs/ Kurlo. Amma used to prepare this recipe with crabs which she learnt from our then neighbor. Khubbo was almost never prepared in Amma's place and it was much later when we shifted homes and our neighbor who were regular fish eaters gave me some to taste and I went ga ga over it. Even after marriage no one preferred it so I rarely got to prepare it. But somehow in the recent years hubby has caught a fancy for khubbo and crabs to my delight; so I guess lady luck is smiling on me. This curry is best relished with panpolo (neer dosa) or ghee rice, though it goes equally well with plain rice too, specially ukda rice /red boiled rice, try it, you'll love it.
** Shell Fish/ Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo as it is called is a little bit tedious to prepare and that is the very reason why people do not prefer them much. However, sometimes desire to eat them overcomes the laziness and I venture into preparing these when my fish vendor brings them in plenty. I have discovered one of the easiest method of opening up the khubbo/ clams and now it is breeze work for me and does not eat up on my time. I have given below three easy methods of opening up the clams/ khubbo that are tightly closed, I am sure you will find them useful. Today, as I wanted to prepare it immediately I prepared the 2nd method given below, otherwise I always put them in freezer and follow the third method posted below, If you have time, try it, it’s a breeze work and I always recommend the 3rd one. Just purchase them, wash them under plenty of water and put them in a tight stainless steel dabba/ box and put it in the freezer overnight. You will find that they are all popped open and ready to be prepared next morning. Isn’t that the easiest- fastest, why fret over to open them with knife or boil them etc.
** Here is my simple method of preparing “Shell Fish (Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo/ Tisrya/ Shimplya) Masala Curry” … My Style …
** Ingredients :
Shell Fish (Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo/ Tisrya/ Shimplya) : 100
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Masala to be Ground :
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2 tblsp
Cumin Seeds/ Jeera : 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds/ Kothimbir/ Dhania : 2 tblsp
Fenugreek Seeds/ Methi : 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper Corns/ Mire/ Mire : 1/2 tsp
Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 8-10 peeled and chopped to pieces
Vonvo/ Ajwain/ Carom Seeds : 1/8 tsp
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 1 small sized; peeled and chopped to pieces
Turmeric/ Haldi Powder : 1/2 tsp
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 3 heaped cups.
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : small marble sized
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2-3 tblsp
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 1 small sized; peeled and chopped to fine.
** You will need about 100 large sized Shell Fish (Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo/ Tisrya/ Shimplya) for this curry.
** For Cleaning of Khubbo/ Clams/ Tisrya : You can use any method you usually use in cleaning them, However, I am sharing 3 ways below and you can choose out that which is convenient to you if you are new to clams.
** Firstly Clean the khubbo/ clams in plenty of water, You can use a colander and rinse it under running tap water for cleaning all the dirt in it. Remember there is always sand in clams and these are a bit tedious to clean, so the more you rinse them properly in a large sieved colander the better.
** Now There are 3 ways of opening the tightly closed/ clammed kubbo/ 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 followed earlier. 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 cooling 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 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 and Best of all Methods..... Which I discovered recently.
This is the method I follow now as it is very easy without any hazels the only hitch being you will need time of say about 24 hours. Just wash the khubbe/ clams / shell fish in plenty of water. Drain off all excess water, 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.
** Use any of the above mentioned method and keep the khubbo/ clams/ tisrya cleaned well and ready. Retain only one of the two chips in which the flesh portion exists and discard the other chip.
** For Masala to be ground : Heat Oil in a pan, when hot add cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, black pepper corn, ajwain, garlic pieces and fry on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Now add Onion pieces and continue to fry all together until they turn translucent. Add in turmeric powder, mix well and lastly add freshly grated coconut and continue to fry for another 2-3 minutes ie until evenly roasted. Remove, let cool a little bit, then add into mixer grinder along with tamarind and grind to a smooth paste with ½ to 1 cup of water. The ground paste should be fine textured.
** Remove and add the ground masala into a wide cooking vessel along with required amount of water to bring to a thick gravy consistency. Add salt to taste, mix well and bring all together to a boiling point on medium heat stirring in between for even cooking. When you see bubbles appearing on the surface add the prepared and kept clams and cook for about 5 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer the curry for another 5-8 minutes. Clams do not take much time to cook and simmering helps in adding flavor.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat oil in a small seasoning pan, when hot add Onion chopped fine and fry on medium heat until it turns lightly and evenly browned. Immediately pour this over the simmering curry, mix well, simmer for another 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and keep it aside for about 20-30 minutes to rest and for the flavours to be infused well with the curry. Check consistency before serving, if too thick, you can add some boiling water, mix well and it is done.
** Shell Fish (Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo/ Tisrya/ Shimplya) Masala Curry is done and ready to be served. In southern parts of India, fish curry is usually served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled rice) or plain rice along with a few upkari/ bhaji dishes during meals and in my opinion it's one of the healthiest meals to date for people who eat fish/ non.veg. However, if you do not prefer to relish it with rice for any reason then the next best option is to be served with panpolo (neer dosa)/ ghee rice/ kori rotti/ Oondi/ medium spiced pulav etc. Kerala Parotta too tastes great with this dish and now that I have given you plenty of options do try out this curry, it tastes awesome, sure to be loved by you family.
** If you are a regular fish eater and have not tried eating clams (shell fish/ shimplya), do so, they are very healthy and great for health. There are many dishes that you can try them out with, you can also add them to soups or prepare gravy based dishes with it and enjoy with rice or mildly spiced rice too. Once you learn the trick of opening them up, which looks tedious, it is a breeze work, I have included just a few dishes in my blog and assuring you of adding many more in the coming months. In case you like crabs, then do try out the curry shared in the Blog, that's another scrumptious dish I recommend for all those who love fish. Again, there are plenty of other varieties too, so try them and enjoy.
** Sharing a common link below to all "Shell Fish (Clams/ Marvai/ Khubbo/ Tisrya/ Shimplya)" recipes shared in blog below, Please browse through in leisure and do try them out, they are all tasty ....
** Sharing a common link below to all "Fish" recipes shared in the Blog. Please browse through in leisure and do try them out ....
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