Squid roast / Kanava roast

Squid is not a frequent visitor on the menu at both Jacob's as well as my house. The times we had squid from outside, were those fried ones that we usually avoided. 

I have had squid at one of my relatives place in Bangalore. And that taste had lingered around for a while. So once when I saw squid in the market, we decided to buy it to recreate the same. Jacob was all in for the game. But the store keeper packed up a different order for us which happened to be octopus. I might be a foodie but not a bizarre  one. Sorry I consider octopus under that bizarre category. I just can't think of it to be eaten. 

So we dropped off the idea of squid for life , until we came to pune and the look of fresh squids again made us tempt for it. We bought once and made this curry and it was like squid just came back into our lives. And since then I don't even remember the number of times we have relished this delicious squid roast. It is just amazing. Wanna try? Here is the recipe to it.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 kg of Squid, cleaned and cut into rings
2. 1 1/2 cups of sliced red onion
3. 1 1/2 tsp of garlic paste
4. 1 1/2 tsp of ginger paste
5. 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
6. 1 large tomato finely chopped
7. 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
8. 1/2 tsp of pepper powder
9. 1 tsp + 1/2 tbsp of kashmiri chilly powder
10. 1/2 tsp of garam masala
11. 1 sprig of curry leaves
12. Salt to taste
13. 2 tbsp of oil

Method

• In a bowl, take the cleaned and cut squid. Add turmeric powder, 1 tsp of kashmiri chilly powder and salt. Marinate it and keep it aside for about half an hour.
• In a pan (preferably an earthen pot), take a tbsp of oil. Add the marinated squid and cook it on medium-low heat for about 6-7 minutes. Remove the cooked squid on to a plate.
• To the pan, add 1 tbsp of oil. Once hot, add the sliced onion, ginger and garlic paste, green chillies, curry leaves and salt. Saute it untill the onion turns tender.
• Add the remaining spices - kashmiri chilly, pepper powder and garam masala. Give it a mix. Add the chopped tomatoes and give it a mix. Let it cook on low heat untill the tomatoes turn mushy and disappear and the oil starts to clear. Add the cooked squid to it. Mix it thoroughly. 
• Let it cook for another 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat. Switch off the heat and let it stand for another half an hour or so for the flavors to settle in before serving.

Tips

1. Cooking the masala thoroughly is one big tip to make the roast tasty.
2. Cooking any seafood in the earthen pot enhances the taste. The same stands true for this squid roast too. So try making it in the earthen pot.
3. Do not overcook the squid, else they turn hard. Since we wouldn't be cooking the squid for too long. Let it stand for minimum of half an hour after taking it off the heat for the flavours to settle in.