Tharoi Thongba

It is river snails, and the shells are trimmed so the meat can be sucked out at the table.

Fish, Shellfish. Not vegetarian — contains fish, shellfish.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg river snails in the shell
• a 5 cm piece of ginger, crushed
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 green chillies, slit
• 1 tablespoon Ngari, as on its own page
• 60 g maroi chives, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons mustard oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 800 ml water

Method

1. IT IS RIVER SNAILS, AND THE SHELLS ARE TRIMMED SO THE MEAT CAN BE SUCKED OUT AT THE TABLE. Its article names the main ingredient as tharoi, freshwater river snails, and lists three kinds eaten in Manipur -- lai tharoi, loubuk tharoi and tharoi ningkhabi. They are cooked and served in the shell, and the pointed tip of each shell is snipped off before cooking so that sucking at the open end draws the meat out. Without that second hole there is nothing to break the vacuum and the meat stays put, which is the one piece of practical knowledge the dish needs.
2. THEY ARE PURGED IN CLEAN WATER FOR A DAY FIRST. Two or three changes of water over twenty-four hours so they void the silt. A snail curry made from unpurged snails is gritty and there is no fixing it afterwards.
3. THE SHELLS ARE SCRUBBED AND THE TIPS SNIPPED. A stiff brush, then the apex of each shell taken off with pliers. Tedious for a kilo and a half and not skippable.
4. ANY SNAIL THAT FLOATS OR DOES NOT WITHDRAW GOES. A dead snail in the pot will spoil the whole curry.
5. THEY ARE BOILED IN WATER BEFORE THE GRAVY IS BUILT. Ten minutes with a little salt, then drained -- the first water is thrown away. It carries the last of the grit and a muddy taste.
6. THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF GINGER AND THAT IS DELIBERATE. Five centimetres for four people. Ginger is what cuts the earthiness its article describes, and a polite amount leaves the dish tasting of river bed.
7. IT SIMMERS IN A THIN GRAVY FOR TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES. Enough liquid to cover, with the ngari, turmeric, garlic and chilli. The snails are already cooked; this is about getting the flavour into the shell.
8. THE CHIVES GO IN AT THE END AND IT IS EATEN WITH RICE. Its article has it as a main course served with steamed rice. It is eaten with the fingers, slowly, one shell at a time.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes