Squid Pro Quo

It is funny how I actually started having meat, coming from a vegetarian background and to an extent a strict one; this did not leave me many opportunities to explore the other realm of food. My mother turned vegetarian the day she got married, not out of coercion but merely because she had had enough during her upbringing in Goa and to diligently follow the traditions of this household. It did not really matter to her as in her ancestral home she strictly followed the vegetarian course and was submissive only amongst her peers [she still reminisces about the food in her convent when I tell her about any new meat dish I might have eaten when traveling or reviewing a new restaurant]

I remember my first brush with meat. Our yearly vacation during our youth riddled summers with the family and extended family (a group of many) halted mid way at a hill station enroute Goa. We were to spend a night at a beautiful resort amongst nothingness and the only food which we were subjected to was the resorts very home cooked style cuisine. I, not much of a fusspot gorged on everything in sight, but some of us being the adventurous (for no better word) wanted the works. So out went a couple of my cousins and brought back hot buttered Naans (Indian Bread) and butter chicken curry. They sneaked the food into the rooms and opened up the hot packets by the time my sibling and I went up to hang with them. Clearly, the sibling had not eaten a morsel, being a choosy eater and not appreciating the humble spread before him, he was salivating at the sight of his favorite ‘outside’ food [he was the butter paneer – naan sort of guy]. Well, hunger spares no one, and before long, he was digging into the gravy and bread with the others.

I was a bit taken aback considering it had huge succulent pieces of chicken on bones present in there, and watching him eat the food with all that gusto was unnerving, positively so as neither of us had (even by oversight) touched meat. Well, I was not going to sit around watching the rest of them wiping out the food with so much relish and on being offered a plate between muffled bites, gave in (all the time thinking, if HE can eat this, I am sure it must be good). That was the first time I had a meat dish and have since acquired a taste to dig in to it once in a while.

While I agree the world is turning vegetarian and the question remains as to why I should turn to blood and flesh? It is only because being a foodie I have this inexorable inclination to try out what the world eats and enjoys. Of course, it’s totally up to me to critique the meat lover’s variety of cuisine as I still have a veritable penchant for vegetarian food over non vegetarian.

Food for thought: It is also said that if the world went vegetarian, it would completely destroy the balance of nature and there would not be enough flora and fauna to go around for everybody, eventually leading to mass extinction of varied species (including us). Inevitably so, for every person who turns vegetarian I think there are as many for are discovering the joys of the other realm. A case of quid pro quo for that thought.

Coming back to the dish for the continuation of my coastal series, this dish which is a simple starter which Mr. Rui enthusiastically instructed his head chef to produce was due to the goggle eyed nature of my cousin who was accompanying me at the demonstrations. A new found love for Squid had taken her fancy and she had this wish to learn how to make squids the simple way. I watched as he prepared this simple batter fried delicacy and hence leave you with the recipe you can easily try at home.

Batter Fried Squids with Warm Butter Garlic Sauce

• 2 large squids (cut into ½” rings)

For the Batter

• 1 cup Cornflour
• 1 cup Plain Flour (maida)
• 1 large Egg
• 1 cube Vegetable Seasoning / Stock Cube (I use Maggi)
• 1 tablsp Red Chili Sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• Salt & White pepper powder to taste
• Water as required

For the Butter Garlic Sauce

• ½ cup Butter
• 12 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• Vegetable oil for frying

In a large bowl sieve the flours together and crush the vegetable seasoning mix into the batter. Crack the egg in a small bowl, whisk for a minute and pour into the flour, mix well and make a batter with about half a cup of water (adjust the quantity of the water till you get a thick paste consistency)

In another bowl, season the squid rings with chili sauce, sugar, pepper and salt, mix well. Drop the squid rings into the batter and ensure give them a good mix with your hands or a large spoon till they are all well coated.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan till hot. Drop in one at a time, the batter covered squid rings (5 – 6 at a time depending on the size of your frying pan) ensuring they are pretty far apart. Fry until golden brown and remove with a slotted spoon on sheets of absorbent paper. Repeat for the rest of the squid rings and serve hot.

For the warm butter garlic sauce:

Heat the butter over a double boiler (or a very low flame) and melt till its transparent. Add the chopped garlic and sea salt and whisk well. Continue to heat over the low flame till slightly bubbling and keep aside till ready to use.

To Serve:

Zap the garlic butter in the microwave or heat over a low flame to melt the coagulated butter till pale yellow and translucent. Serve warm with batter fried squids.

Ever since that day, the sibling has stopped eating anything remotely connected to meat and I have gone on a binge ‘trying out everything’ spree… watch this site for upcoming meat experiments on the coast.