Kallumakaya /Mussel Roast

I spent my childhood in Secunderabad and hence our sea food dictionary held ..fish(pomfret) fish(murrel) fish(king fish) and fish(sardines)...lol...note everything is just fish..as far as a youngster is concerned...sab machi hi tho he!!

I remember eating an occasional platter of prawns and feeling smug...boasting to my friends..."humne aaj prawns khaaya".....And when they asked "jhinga?" I would very confidently say....nahi re baba......Prawns!!!

I got introduced to a vast variety of sea treasure ,during my stay at hostel in the amazing Calicut Medical College .....no credits to the mess,though...where we were served food equivalent to any hostel mess around the country....

Classmates used to take us hostelites home to fresh food...aromas from the kitchen would drive us crazy...

Thank you Jappu,my dear brother whose home we gatecrashed many times...only to welcomed by his mummy's fragrant biryanis,roasts,curries and a variety of sweets...Iftar at his home was incomplete without us....:) or so we believe! 

Friends ,who visited home,got bk packets of home cooked deliciousness ...oozing with love and coconut oil..yummmm!

Ever thankful to all the aunties who painstakingly cooked large meals for all the " hungry as hatchling" group of hostellers....

I tasted delicacies like mussels...kallumakaya,huge prawns,little shrimps,crab,squid... ...tasted it all..loved them all.

Kallumakaya is named so due to the way it is found....as if the rocks bore them...they cling on to the rocks for dear life and grow happily there.....mussel cultivation uses the same rule...kallu means rock or stone and kaya means fruit...so they somehow become the fruit that the rocks bore...

Now for the recipe..I got the cleaned ,shelled mussels from a friend who supplies excellent sea food...easy to cook.

Ingredients

Mussels cleaned 300 gms
Onion chopped 2 to 3
Shallots chopped 10
Ginger pounded 1 tbsp
Garlic powder 1 tbsp
Green chilies 3 chopped
Curry leaves
Tomatoes 3 medium chopped

Masalas

Kashmiri chilly powder 1 tsp
Chilly powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 to 1 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Pepper coarsely pounded 1 tsp
Saumf or Anise seeds pounded 1 tsp
Any meat masala1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut oil


Method

Boil the mussels with a pinch of turmeric and salt (skip this step if the mussels are cooked already)...cook for 5 mins and keep aside.

In a kadhai take coconut oil and add two springs of curry leaves.

Add the chopped onions and shallots...saute till transparent.

Add the pounded ginger garlic and the green chillies.

Once they get caramelized, add the diced tomato...saute till the tomato is mushy..

Add the masalas and stir well..add the boiled and drained mussels...mix well.

Now add half a glass of water and cover it.cook till the consistency is to your liking.

Take off fire and pour some coconut oil and crush some curry leaves over the mussels.

You can add more water if u fancy a thinner roast gravy...or you could add coconut milk too....the spice will be mellowed but taste remains.

Serve hot with rice,chapathi,aapam,pathiri......any thing goes well with this beauty.

Enjoy!