How to make crispy squid

While still in the world of the living, the squid isn't a beast you want to mess with. But after the sweet release of death, the squid suddenly seems infinitely more appealing.

Nothing embodies this statement more than a good portion of crispy squid. To ensure you can create this dish in your own home, we spoke to Balaji Balachander, Executive Chef at Carom, who gave us the following unbeatable recipe.

Serves 4

Cooking time 4-5 mins

Prep time 15 mins

Ingredients

To Marinade

• 1kg Squid, gutted and cleaned

• 15ml Lime Juice

• 12g Salt

• 40g Ginger & Garlic paste (60% ginger and 40% garlic blended together with a teaspoon of water and oil)

Flour mix – to fry

• 30g Plain flour

• 15g Corn flour

• 15g Rice flour

• 5g Salt

• 5g Cracked black pepper

Spice mix

• 5g Chilli flakes

• 5g Chunky chat masala

• 10g Cracked black pepper

• 10g Sweet paprika

• 10g Cumin seeds

• 10g Coriander seeds

• 5g Salt

Method

To prep

1. Cut the squid into batons or rings

2. Marinate the Squid with lime juice, 10g of salt and the garlic and ginger paste

3. Set aside for 15-20 minutes

To make the Spice Mix

1. Toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds separately and then grind into a coarse powder

2. Add in the chilli flakes, chunky chat masala, cracked black pepper, sweet paprika and salt and mix well

To Fry

1. Add all the spices into the flour mix and stir well

2. Dust the squid in the flour. Mix nicely, spreading evenly onto each baton of the squid

3. Deep fry the squid until crisp

4. Toss the fried squid with the spice mix and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves

5. Leave to cool then ready to serve

Located in the heart of bustling Soho, at 100 Wardour Street, Carom is a vibrant and buzzing contemporary Indian restaurant from D&D London, serving authentic and casual sharing dishes, at affordable prices. Book your table here.