Tharoi Thongba: River snails curry

Tharoi Thongba

Ingredients:

1. 500 g river snails
2. 5 medium size potatoes (red potatoes preferably) cut into 4 pieces each.
3. 250 g Loklei ( Ginger Lily) cut into horizontal pieces if 2 inches each.
4. 7-10 strands of Mukthrubi Mana ( Pricky Winged leaf)
5. Five large pieces of ( Ngari) Fermented Fish
6. 20 red chilies
7. Haldi Powder (tip of the teaspoon)
8. A medium sized onion ( finely chopped)
9.  A clove of garlic ( finely crushed in a mortar)
10. A teaspoon of crushed ginger (in a mortar/ mixer)
11. A teaspoon of Maachal ( mixed spices crushed together)
12. A teaspoon of Cumin Powder
13. One tablespoon refined oil of your choice
14. 2-3 pieces of Indian Bay Leaf
15. Salt to taste

Note: Leave the snails overnight or two days in a bucket of water before cooking to remove excess dirt and sand from the snails. On the day of cooking, cut the end of the snails about 1 inch for easy sucking and leave it n salt water 2 hours prior cooking time.

Preparation:

1. In a pressure cooker, cook the snails ( after draining the salt water and rinsed with fresh water) in high flame. Once it whistles, turn down the heat to medium flame and leave it for 5 minutes. Do not open until the pressure reduces on its own.
2.  In another pressure cooker, cook the potatoes, lolkei and chilies in the same manner as done in Step 1.
3. In the meantime, roast the ngari in a pan until it becomes soft and slightly brown. After it is done, leave it in a small bowl with a tiny amount of water to soften it.
4. Open the pressure cooker and take out the veggies in a large bowl and allow it to cool. Then, remove the chilies separately and mash it with the ngari and salt to make chili-ngari paste.Now, mash the veggies and mix it with the chili-ngari paste with three cups of water to make base for the curry. (Make sure to mash the loklei thoroughly for its taste to kick in).
5. Heat up a wok/skillet and dry fry the snails after draining out the water. Keep stirring until the water that seeps out of the snails dries to make it crunchy later on.
6. In another wok/ skillet, heat up the oil and drop the Indian Bay Leaf first. Then, stir fry the onion, garlic and ginger together with the cumin powder and maachal until it becomes golden brown. Then, add the curry base and boil it for about 5 minutes after adding another 3 cups of water.
7. After it comes to a boil, add the snails and mukthrubi mana and leave it in high flame for another 10-15 minutes and add salt to taste. Your curry is now done. You may add coriander leaves for garnish.

Image Credit: Manao Koijam (Posted in Facebook Page- Chakhum)

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