Skip to main content

Kanava/Stuffed Squid- With Spicy Prawns Filling



Stuffed Squid

Squid is a unique and yummy seafood delicacy that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Squid rings or fried calamari's is the most popular and is a great appetizer. Squid is a staple in many seafood restaurants. It is also a popular street food in several south Asian countries. Squid is enjoyed in the coastal belt of south India especially in Kerala and Tamilnadu. In Kerala squid is known as koonthal or Kanava.


 Squid is one of my favorite sea foods-roast squids, deep-fried, stir-fried, or squid curry-I love them all. Squid has a mild flavor and gentle sweetness and marries well to any flavor and taste of your choice. Squid can be stuffed before roasting or frying, its tubular body called mantle is great for stuffing. You can get creative with the stuffing- use prawns, fish, pork, cheese, bread crumbs, olives, rice, or anything of your choice.


 Today's recipe is a stuffed squid with spicy prawn filling. The dish is inspired by a similar preparation from the book Classic Home Cooking by Mary Berry and Marlena Spieler. I tried a spicy Indian masala filling with squid tentacles, shrimp, and bell pepper. Stuffed squid is delicious and beyond what I expected. The spicy prawns stuffing adds a certain layer of flavor. The squid must be cooked fast over high heat, not more than three minutes on each side. In this way, you can avoid it turning chewy and rubbery. Try this recipe, you will surely love it.



Ingredients
Squid cleaned- 2 medium
(or 6 small sized squid)
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

For the filling
Prawns - 3/4 cup cleaned
Squid tentacles finely chopped
Onion- 1 small
Bell pepper- 1/2 cup chopped
Tomato chopped- 1 small
Garlic- 3-4
Ginger- 1 small peice
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Bread crumbs- 1 tbs (optional)
Chopped coriander leaves
Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon
Curry leaves a few
Oil for frying
Salt to taste


To make the filling
Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and saute till translucent. Add crushed garlic and ginger and stir fry till onion is golden brown. Add salt, chopped bell pepper, and tomatoes. Saute for a minute and add the chopped squid tentacles and prawns. Cover and cook for two minutes and then add chilly powder, pepper powder,garam masala, and stir fry till all the moisture evaporates. Switch off the flame and mix in bread crumbs and chopped coriander. Allow this to cool down completely.

 Fill the squid with this stuffing and seal the tops. You can use a toothpick, tread it carefully through the top of each stuffed squid to seal the opening. Season the stuffed squid with turmeric powder, chilly powder, and salt. Make small gashes on the top. Heat oil in a pan and fry the squid. Add a few curry leaves too if you like the flavor. Cover and cook for three minutes on each side. When one side is evenly brown flip and fry the other side. If you are baking arrange in an oven-proof dish and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until it is firm to touch. Squeeze lemon juice just before serving.


Note: If you are using a frozen squid, just thaw and pat dry. It will have a tube like body and separate tentacles.
 To prepare fresh squid, pull out the head and tentacles. The innards will come away with the head. Cut off the tentacles, just in front of the eyes. Squeeze the tentacles, near the cut end, to remove the hard beak and then discard it. Also, discard the head, and the quill out of the body. Wash the tentacles and then chop finely. The skin on the body can also be easily removed. Rinse, pat dry, and stuff with the filling.

You might also like,

Crispy Salt and Pepper Squid
Spicy Stuffed Eggplant-Mediterranean Recipe
Easy Fish Pulao/ Indian Fish Pilaf- Pomfret Fish and Rice
Kanava/ Squid Thoran
Crispy Calamari/Squid Rings
Goan Fish Curry


Try this
Hope you will all enjoy!

Comments

  1. This is one of my favorites, Super yummy..

    ReplyDelete
  2. We do filling of raw rice and steam it till done... I am just looking at this and wondering about that dish... very interesting recipe...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ithu kollammallo stuffed squid looks really yum.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

12 Best Traditional Kerala Snacks - Tea Time Snacks

 12 Best Traditional Kerala Snacks - Tea Time Snacks  Are you looking for some light bites to indulge during tea time? Well, you have come to the right place. Kerala cuisine has an exhaustive list of traditional tea-time snacks.  The list of ingredients is available in your pantry, making it possible to make these delicious snacks. Many of these snacks, can be quickly whipped up with rice flour, coconut, and jaggery. I am sharing a list of snack recommendations from Kerala that are easy to cook at home. These sweet and savory snacks are heartwarming and will make you nostalgic. It is by no means is a complete list. I am sharing some of the top picks of this blog in one space for easy reference. If you like to try, more recipes check my earlier post on 10 Quick and Easy Kerala Snacks/ Tea time snacks that you can make in under 20 minutes . Do you have any favorite snack that is simple and easy to make? I would love to hear about your favorite traditional snacks. Please share your idea

Kerala Black Halwa/ Karutha Halwa/ Rice Flour Halwa

Kerala Black Halwa/ Karutha Halwa/ Rice Flour Halwa December has finally arrived and it means it is almost Christmas time! How many of you look forward to the Season of Joy! My birthday also comes in December, so it is a double celebration for me :) How is the Christmas planning coming along for everyone? It is exactly three weeks for Christmas and I am planning to share a few recipes for the holidays this year. This is the first one I wanted to share with all of you -Kerala style sweet delicacy- a real nostalgia, the Black Halwa. Halwas has always amazed me with its simplicity, unique texture and taste. It is a gel-like sweet candy that you can never stop eating. When making halwa there is a time-honored cooking technique and halwa making is time-consuming. So people simply prefer to buy it from the shop. But making your own is a rewarding experience. Now many of the traditional sweets are forgotten or get overlooked for fancier ones in bakeries. But that is not the case w

15 Easy-To-Cook Kerala Vishu Sadhya Recipes

Happy Vishu to all my friends and Readers! How is the Vishu Sadhya planning coming along for everyone? For all my Malayalee friends who are planning to celebrate this joyous festival, I am sharing a guide to preparing an easy  and tasty Sadhya. Vishu celebrations are real nostalgia, the fully blossomed Kani Konna trees (Cassia fistula), Vishu Kani, new clothes, and Sadhya. Vishu Kani is beautifully arranged the night before, and the sight you see on the morning of the New year brings luck throughout the year. Vishu celebration is not complete without the traditional vegetarian feast- Sadhya. It is served on a banana leaf, and there is a colorful array of vegetarian curries, rice, and desserts. Vishu Kanji, vishu katta or ada is served for breakfast. Sometimes non-vegetarian food is also part of the feast in some regions. In Southern Kerala, Vishu Sadhya is not so elaborate as the Onam sadhya. It is cooked with simple ingredients and seasonal vegetables. Mango, golden cucumber, jack f