Kerala is famous for a huge variety of seafood. If someone asks me which is the best to try out, I would have no doubt to say it is Kallummakaya :-). Kallummakkaya and Kadukka are two different types of popular mussels found in the coastal regions of Kerala. Kallummakaya is a marine mussel which lives on hard rocks (by sticking) near coastal areas in the sea.
Kallummakaya has to be boiled in water which helps the meat to come out fast. The black part of it is considered as waste and that has to be removed very carefully. Extracting the meat from the shell and cleaning are not so interesting, but no other choice 😉
There are quite a few Kallummakaya dishes available like dry Fry, Arikkadukka, Kallummakaya Pickle, Upperi, Podithooval, Biriyani etc. For some of those, frying is the first step.
Ingredients:
- Kallummakaya : 20 (if it is medium size)
- Salt : 1/2 teaspoon (to taste)
- Water : 2-3 teaspoons
- Red Chilli Powder : 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric Powder : A pinch
- Curry leaves : 5-6 No.
- Oil for Frying : 5-6 teaspoons
Preparation :
Step 1:
Wash Kallummakkaya and boil for around 5 minutes (or till the shell starts opening up) by adding 2 cups of water to it.
Step 2:
Take out kallummakkaya from the shell and also clean up the black part of it by squeezing the dirt out. Wash it thoroughly.
Step 3:
Mix well the chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder and water and make a smooth paste. Add Kallummakkaya into it and marinate for 30 minutes.
Step 4:
Keep a pan on heat and add oil and curry leaves. Shallow fry the marinated kallummakkaya in low heat. Stir in between. Take out once it changes color as shown below.
Kallummakkaya fry is ready to serve or use for other recipes like biryani or pickle. Enjoy !!
Stay tuned for more Kallummakkaya recipes 😉

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