Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Arikadukka – Stuffed mussels

Back home, my mom prepares arikadukka whenever we get big mussels. The mussels stuffed with the rice flour mix and then fried in coconut oil… Have them hot with some tomato ketchup….. slurrrrpppppp…..
Last day, when we went for grocery shopping, we came across a bunch fresh mussels. AJ couldn’t resist himself from getting it. It was so small and preparing arikadukka out of it was supposed to be difficult. Or in my mom’s words, it is not worth the effort. But I decided to try it out just because of my craving...  Believe me, it was not that difficult and was definitely worth the effort. The bigger the mussels, the better.. But the small ones are equally delicious and yummy..
Arikadukka 11
Ingredients:
             Mussels/Kadukka                                 --   30 – 45 small ones
            Rice flour                                                  --   1/2 cup  + 1 tbsp (if required for batter while frying)
           Water                                                         --   a little less than 1/2 cup
           Shredded Coconut                                --   1/4 cup
           Shallots                                                     --   2
           Green Chillies                                          --   3-4
           Fennel Seeds / Perumjeerakam      --   1 tsp
           Curry leaves                                            --   1 spring
           Chilly Powder                                         --   1 tsp
           Turmeric Powder                                  --   1/4 tsp
           Salt                                                               --   to taste
Arikadukka 10
Preparation of Arikadukka:
Clean the shell of the mussels and split open with a blunt knife without breaking the shell. Remove any hairy kind of  material from it.
 
Take 2-3 mussels out of the shell and keep aside.
 
Grind the shallots, green chillies, fennel seeds, curry leaves and the shelled mussels along with a pinch of salt. Add coconut to the ground mixture and crush them. Just pulse in your mixer.
Arikadukka 1   Arikadukka 2 
 
Boil the water and add the rice flour into it and keep stirring as you add the flour. Switch off the flame and let it cool a bit. Once you are able to touch it with your hands, knead into a smooth dough . Add the ground coconut mixture into the dough and mix well.
 
Check for salt and add if required, but remember that the mussels are a bit salty. Instead of using rice flour, you can prepare the dough using raw rice. Soak half a cup of raw rice for a couple of hours and then grind into a fine paste adding minimum amount of water.
 
Fill the flour mixture in each of the mussels, close them and tie it tight with a thread. Tying with the thread helps to keep the stuffing inside, without letting it move out when cooked. You can fill in more than what I have done and let the mussels be half open and then tie it. I reduced the filling in each as we concentrate more on the mussels than the stuffing, also the mussels were very small.
Arikadukka 3     Arikadukka 4
          Steam the mussels in a covered vessel until cooked (It took around 15 minutes for me.) 
          Remove the mussels from the shell and keep them aside.
 Arikadukka 5   Arikadukka 6 
Mix the chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and a tbsp of the left over flour mixture(if you have any) , or 1 tbsp of rice flour with water and make a thin paste.
Arikadukka 7    Arikadukka 8
Dip the mussels in the batter and deep fry in oil. Drain on to a kitchen towel and serve hot.
Arikadukka 9
 
Submitting this to Akheela's  Food palette series Orange

26 comments:

  1. Never had mussels..Looks so inviting and gorgeous pics Nitha !!

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  2. wow!! Kothiyavununee..Liked ur version nitha....next time ingane try cheyyamtto..:)

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  3. Great post, Nitha..Stuffed mussels kidilan aayittundu. Njan ethu vare ee mussels taste cheythittilla..Njangalde nattil onnum ethu kittarillenne thonnunnu..Avide kakka irachi mathrame kittullu..Eppravshyam nattil pokumbol evidelum poyi ethu taste cheythitte thirichu varullu..Athurappaichu kazhinju:)

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  4. wow.never had these..looks delicious NItha..Pictures are mindblowing ketto...

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  5. Slurp, eventhough i dont like much mussels, ur clicks makes me drool..

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  6. Kandittu kothyavunnu..super ayitundu

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  7. Wow..looks like a lot of work .Looks amazing !!

    Best Regards
    Sulagna
    http://e-senseofspicenfragrance-sulagna.blogspot.com/

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  8. i have been seeing this quite a bot on other blogs and im intrigued by how it looks but im sure i wouldnt dare try it... :)

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  9. Must be very delicious..look at the color..gorgeous!

    US Masala

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  10. Nitha, that looks delicious. May I come over? Too much work for a lazy person like me!


    Nitha, I'm hosing a giveaway, please do drop in and join the fun!

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  11. Nitha if you cook like that, I'll actually have to make the trip! thanks for stopping by! :)

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  12. wow,wow,wow,,,i can only say that.....I am running out of words...just awesome...

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  13. Thanks for sharing this one ...will definitely try

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  14. delicious colourful mussels never had like this

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  15. the pics looks great Nitha . I have never had mussels but this will be on my mind whenever i try then for the first time.

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  16. njan yithu kazhichittundu...but yithu vara undakkiyittu ella keto.....he he he madichi annu....ennikku bayankkaram eshttam annu yithu....

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  17. ithu kazhichittilla but othiri kettittundu pic superb ayittundu evide kittumenkil onnu try cheyyanam

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  18. looks yummy nitha..love your presentation....

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  19. My all time fav thattukada item...looks yummmmmmmmmm

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  20. Ithu kalummakkai alley? I love it...tasted it from my in laws place. Loved the way you presented it for first timers in case they want to make it, after all, you can't find these in any recipe books. Its passed on through moms and families. Great going.

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  21. Wonderful post Nitha ..I know what your mom was talking about, but as you said it's totally worth the efforts and I love them :-)

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  22. Oh they look gorgeous, i don't have that patience to try ...but love to eat :D

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  23. Great and tempting recipe....Drooling over here

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  24. thank you Nithu for linking this yummy mussels

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  25. These looks so delicious and beautifully presented :)

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