Sneha's Recipe: Pin Shells

With various types of seashells found along the sea coast, most of them are eaten as food. The type of shells that I cooked is the small sea snails/ sea shells, we East Indians call them khuba/khube which are also known as pin shells since a pin is used to remove the flesh from the shell. These shells are got from the rocks in the sea, they generally cling to these rocks and usually found in the market during the monsoons. My sister in law got these for me, I have eaten these after many years. I love these khubas.

They are delicious to eat but tiresome to clean, they take a lot of time to clean. When I make this curry, I first enjoy eating the rice or hand bread/Appas, then clean all the khubas. Try this recipe and you will enjoy it.
How to clean shells and prepare for cooking.

Immerse the shells in a big pot water for 10 to 15 minutes to let the sand settle down. I put a pinch of potassium permanganate in the water, so that all dirt is removed completely, this is optional.
Now lift the khubas and immerse them in another pot of of water and like wise wash them well a three to four times in fresh water. When the water is clean and clear the khubas are ready to use, then transfer them into a big vessel.

Ingredients
Grind To Fine Paste
4 Dried Red Chillies
½ Teaspoon Cumin seeds
A Pinch Turmeric powder
1/3 Cup Fresh Grated Coconut
4 Whole Black Peppercorns
1 Teaspoon Tamarind
6 Cloves Garlic
Salt to taste
Other Ingredients
50 Khubas
1 Teaspoon Oil - optional

Method

Soak the chillies in hot water till they soften.
Grind all the given ingredients to fine paste.

Mix the oil and grounded paste well. Wash the mixer jar with water, add enough water to make thick consistency gravy. Add salt to taste.

Boil this till it comes to a boil. Cover with a lid and low flame let it simmer for 7 minutes. Taste for salt and sourness, add if necessary. Add the Khubas and bring it to a boil. Reduce the flame to low and cook it for 8 to 10 minutes. Switch off the flame.