KOCHI, Kerala, 08/01/2020 : Octopus at the Seafood festival at CMFRI, Kochi on Wednesday. Photo : Thulasi Kakkat/The Hindu
Saina Oji had never touched an octopus before. As she held one up gingerly, she wasn’t sure what to do with it. It felt slimy and she took a moment to reflect. “Roast it is”, she decided, and began prepping for her maiden octopus challenge. Her team joined in, chopping onions and tomatoes and peeling garlic.
At a recent seafood festival held on the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) campus in Kochi, the octopus was the chief attraction.
“My fish dishes are usually good. But the octopus was a daunting task,” says Saina, a member of the Society For Assistance to Fisherwomen (SAF), who took charge of the cooking for the three-day festival. SAF is an agency under the Department of Fisheries, Kerala, to help fisher-women set up micro-enterprise units. Saina, whose husband was a fisherman, has taken the lead in many such food festivals organised by the fisheries department.
Taking suggestions from the officials, Saina made some of her favourite dishes, substituting fish with octopus. The menu therefore had octopus puttu and octopus biryani , both of which were hits. “On the last day I had people queuing up for more; many wanted recipes, some wanted me to make octopus cutlets,” she says.
Organised by the Marine Biological Association of India (MBAI) on the sidelines of an international symposium on marine ecosystems, the festival was aimed at creating awareness on the culinary potential of the octopus, along with other Cephalopods such as squids, cuttlefish, clams and mussels. Unlike the other Cephalopods, octopus is not traditionally consumed in India. Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, it is known to have health benefits such as reducing hypertension and hyperglycaemia.
The species commonly found on the Kerala coast are the web-foot octopus (A mphioctopus Fangsiao ), the old woman octopus (C istopus Indicus ) and the common octopus ( Octopus Vulgaris ), all relatively small in size, says Dr K Sunil Mohammed, principal scientist at the CMFRI. “We only discovered the export potential of Cephalopods in the 1970s. Earlier, even squid was not so popular in India as it is today,” he says. India produces over 200,000 tonnes of Cephalopods every year, most of which is exported mainly to Spain, Portugal, Italy and Japan. Out of this, octopus constitutes an average of 10,000 tonnes, he says. Commonly used in Mediterranean, Greek, Japanese and Korean cuisine, the global unit price for octopus is around $ 6-7 per kilo. “We have no local demand for it yet, and hence it is not easily available in the local market,” says Sunil.
Caught in trawl-fishing, it is usually found off Kochi, Beypore and Kollam along the Kerala coast. “We get a good quantity from the East coast as well,” says Faraz Javeed, Director of Abad Fisheries, which exports 500-600 tonnes of octopus per year. “We have a very small, niche market for it here. But we still do get orders.” Octopus is available at Abad Fisheries outlets (at approximately ₹150 a kilo). “The octopus is very often available in the local markets of Goa, Mumbai and Mangaluru,” says consultant chef and food stylist Ramu Butler, who runs a multi-cuisine restaurant, B at Bay, in Kochi. However, most of the octopus what he uses for his salads are the frozen and canned.
octopus with potatoes, olive oil, paprika and leaves of chard. warm salad. snack. Mediterranean Kitchen.
Though regular diners may find it alien, the octopus has always made an appearance in special seafood showcases at fine dining hotels in Kochi.
While Saina cooked hers in a thick gravy of naadan fragrant masala, which had coriander, Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric, garlic and green chillies, Executive Chef of Casino Hotel, Shaikh Asif Ali has tried octopus salads with success. “The meat is hard and turns rubbery if it is over-cooked. It should be only blanched,” he says. Asif usually prepares pasta and salads with baby octopus, though he says, the bigger ones have more flavour.
- Saute onions in ginger garlic paste and add slit green chillies and stir. Add Kashmiri chilli powder, pepper and turmeric powder, fish masala and a dash of coriander powder. To this mixture, add diced tomatoes and keep stirring, adding water little by little. To this, add cleaned octopus, salt and let it simmer, until the gravy thickens. For flavour, Saina recommends adding coriander and pudina leaves.
Ramu Butler prefers a salad, too. “A salad is the best bet. Octopus is suited for oriental cuisine; a stir-fry or even in main course such as a mixed fried rice. But a baby octopus salad is more sought-after. We use small octopuses, and it is not cut; but placed with the tentacles, doused in balsamic vinegar, on a bed of greens. It adds crunch to the salad. In India, many still consider it a cultivated taste.”
Ramu Butler’s Wine-Braised Char grilled Octopus Salad:
300 gm medium-large whole octopuses
150 ml white wine
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
Cooking oil
Salt to taste
For the salad:
20 gm baby rocket leaves
20 gm cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 baby fennel, thinly sliced
1 red onion, sliced
Chopped parsley leaves
Chopped oregano leaves
10 whole black olives
10 caper berries
Char-grilled lemon halves, to serve
Method:
Slice off octopus heads below eyes and remove skin from heads. Cut body in half, top to bottom.
Place octopus pieces, including heads, wine and vinegar in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Cover with cold water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until tender.
Drain the water. When cool enough to handle, run hands over tentacles to remove membrane and suckers, if necessary. Gently rinse. Cut into smaller portions with 2-3 tentacles per piece.
Heat a char grill pan over a medium heat. Cook, turning for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and charred. Set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together salad ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice and olive oil, and toss into salad. Serve octopus with salad, rocket leaves and lemon halves.
