Snails On Your Plate: Try This Protein-loaded Dish From Bengal

You might have thought to yourself, that you would never eat snails in your life, right? Those wretched bugs that obstrusively hog the sidewalk whenever it rains. Well, allow us to shift your entire world upside down. What if I tell you that snails have been a part of our rural diets and the hyperlocal palates have already been accustomed to this delicacy for forever now. It's time to give your urbanized tastebuds that have come to experience only a handful of dishes a much needed shift from the usual. Maybe you’ll come to love it so much that it will be impossible for you to go back to your life the way it was! 

Snails or ‘Guguli’ or ‘Gneri’ or ‘Shamuk’ as the Bengalis call it, is loaded with protein, with minimal fat. Being good sources of iron, calcium, Vitamin A, and a number of other essential vitamins like Vitamin E and Vitamin B1, B3, B6, and B12. All that is well and good, but apart from being pesky little buggers that wreck your garden, how does it taste? Well, it behaves and tastes almost like a shrimp, which means while cooking you have to be careful, otherwise it might ruin the taste profile and turn the delicate snail's meat hard and rubbery. And, if you’re too worried about the smell of snails, don’t worry, there’s ways to mask that too while cooking. Now, if we have convinced you of the prospect of having snails for your lunch today, here’s all the steps you’ll need to follow to make a hearty masala curry of it sitting in the comfort of your home with this recipe from West Bengal. 

Ingredients:

• 750g of Snails 
• 2 Potatoes, diced 
• 3 Green Chillies, slit
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp Ginger Paste
• 3 tbsp Garlic Paste
• 2 tbsp Onion Paste
• 5 tbsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 tbsp Chilli Powder
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 tbsp Tomato Sauce/ 2 tsp Sugar
• 4 tbsp Mustard oil

Method: 

Washing the Snails-

1. Fill a kadhai or stock pot with water and bring it to a boil.
2. Add 3 tbsp salt to the boiling water.
3. Add the snails to the saltwater solution, cover it and let it stew for 5-6 minutes. The boiling saltwater kills the snails and removes any dirt that might be present on its outer shell.
4. Remove the lid after 5 minutes and drain the water thereafter.
5. Now it’s time to remove the snail meat from their shells. Use a toothpick if the opening of the shell is small and a paring knife if it’s wide enough. The meat would readily come out of the shells with little effort.

For preparing the Curry- 

1. Add 2 tbsp of mustard oil to a preheated pan.
2. Add the diced potatoes to the pan. Fry it till it's golden. 
3. Once the potatoes are fried, keep it aside. Add the snails to the pan.
4. Sauté the snail for a couple of minutes. Do not overcook it. Once the water is released from the snail has evaporated, remove it from the pan.
5. Add the rest of the 2 tbsp mustard oil to the same pan. Once it gets heated, add the bay leaf.
6. Add the ginger paste and garlic paste. Sauté it for a minute before adding the onion paste.
7. Once the paste is sautéed, add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies.
8. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder to the mix. Stir it around till the oil separates from the spices.
9. Add the fried potatoes and snail meat. Add the rest of the salt. At this stage, add the tomato sauce or sugar, which is optional.
10. Once the contents within the pan are thoroughly mixed, add water till the contents within the pan are just submerged.
11. Cover it with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.
12. After the ten minutes are done, open the lid and add the garam masala powder.
13. Manage the consistency of the curry to your liking and remove it from the flame.
14. Optionally, you can garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

And there you have it! A simple way to cook snail masala curry or as the Bengalis call it, Gneri Chocchori. Serve it with rice or roti and take your tastebuds on a wild ride of the kind which they’ve never experienced before.