Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Calamari Pakora

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This week I decided to combine two of my favorite fried foods – pakora and fried calamari. Calamari dusted in flour, salt, and pepper and dipped in marinara is pretty heavenly as is but I thought we could up the volume a bit by dipping the squid rings into a flavorful pakora batter.

Instead of doing just AP flour, I did a 1:1 ratio of regular to rice flour. The rice flour helps the calamari be extra crispy. For my spice mix, I did a combination of kasuri methi, coriander, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chilli powder. I also added in a good amount of yogurt which you find in most pakora recipes along with a few curry leaves. I also chopped up a few serrano chilies to fry up along with the calamari rings.

These fry up super-fast and pair amazingly with a South Indian-Style Tomato Chutney – (my substitution for the marinara). I didn’t include the chutney recipe here but I plan to in the future. In any case, it’s made up of roma tomatoes, fresh tamarind pulp, cumin, mustard seeds, and curry leaves.

This calamari dish is a seafood lover’s dream. It’s the perfect summer appetizer that screams fusion food truck and pop-up appetizer all over it.

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Calamari Pakora

An Indian version of fried calamari made with a pakora batter

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 lb calamari squid
  • 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup Rice Flour
  • 1/3 cup yogurt
  • 1 1/4 cup water (or more)
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp kasuri methi
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Other Ingredients for the Fry

  • 2 jalapenos or serranos
  • 1/4 cup onion slices

Instructions

  1. Rinse your squid in cold water. Remove any dirt that may be lingering inside.

  2. Cut the squid into rings. Pat dry and set aside.

  3. Now start making the pakora batter. In a separate bowl, combine the AP flour, rice flour, and spices. Slowly mix in the yogurt and thin the batter out with some water. Start off with 3/4 cup and work your way up to 1 cup if needed. The batter should be the consistency of pancake batter.

  4. Now add in your calamari along with any other vegetable you'd like to fry up into the batter. Combine well.

  5. In a pot or pan, add at least an inch or so of oil for deep-frying. Once hot, add a handful of calamari at a time. Fry until golden brown. This should only take a minute or two.

  6. Remove with slotted spoon and onto a plate lined with paper towel. Serve the calamari with chutneys and hot sauces of your choice.