Kalamar tava
Fried squid with walnut sauce
Kalamar tava: crisp fried squid rings with walnut and garlic tarator sauce
TurkishOn the waterfront in Bodrum and in every Aegean fish meyhane, a plate of kalamar tava arrives hot among the cold meze: tender rings of squid in a light, crisp coat, with a bowl of tarator, a thick sauce of walnuts, bread, garlic and lemon, for dipping. The trick is speed; squid is tender after a minute or two in the oil and rubbery after five. Chef's tip: soak the rings in milk or fizzy mineral water for half an hour in the fridge; it tenderises them and helps the coating cling.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the squid
- 1 ⅓ lb cleaned squid tubescut into 1 cm rings
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 ¾ oz cornflour
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor deep-frying
- 1 lemonin wedges
For the tarator
- 2 ⅞ oz walnuts
- 1 ¾ oz stale white breadcrusts removed, soaked and squeezed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup cold water
- ½ tsp salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Soak 1 ⅓ lb cleaned squid tubes in ¾ cup milk in the fridge for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Blend 2 ⅞ oz walnuts, 1 ¾ oz stale white bread, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp lemon juice, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup cold water and ½ tsp salt to a thick, creamy sauce. Add a splash more water if it's stiff.
Step 3: Heat 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Mix 3 ½ oz plain flour, 1 ¾ oz cornflour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl.
Step 4: Drain the squid, shake off the milk and toss in the flour in batches, shaking off the excess.
Step 5: Fry in small batches for 1½–2 minutes, until pale golden and the squid is opaque and just firm. Common mistake: frying too long; squid turns rubbery after a couple of minutes.
8 minStep 6: Drain on kitchen paper and serve at once with the tarator and 1 lemon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 29 g
- Carbs
- 37 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kalamar tava take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek