KANAVA VARUVAL
I’ve made this a few times already and it is one of my favorites. I can’t believe I didn’t make and post this during the summer while we were doing this cuisine!
This is a “dry curry”. First clean and cut up your squid. Then toss it with some turmeric and chili powder (I used cayenne here). Next, get some mustard seeds and curry leaves into a good sputter in some oil. Add about a cup of chopped red onion and cook over medium until it gets brown (about 10 minutes). Then ginger-garlic paste, a couple serranos, and a small, chopped tomato. Cook until everything gets tight and the oil releases back out into the pan. Then in goes some unsweetened coconut flakes that have been soaked and rehydrated. Continue cooking for another couple minutes. You are directed to add Kashmiri chile powder, ground coriander, and a little garam masala at this point. I added 7 Kasmiri chiles, toasted and ground together with coriander seeds and black peppercorn. I used a spoon of my Konkani style koli masala in place of the garam masala. Once that is well incorporated, add the squid and cook until the squid is just about cooked through (~4 minutes) and finish the dish with some tamarind concentrate (1-2 tablespoons, depending on how strong yours is). It only needs to simmer for another 1-2 minutes at this point. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
