I suppose it's not surprising that I found no recipes here for snails.

I tried preparing some snails from our land when we first got here, but didn't get it right. I'm thinking of having another go.

The edible ones we have here(Latin name: helix aspersa) are called 'le petit gris' in French (Elizabeth David says they're called 'caraguolo' here in the Languedoc region of France: must be an Occitan name). I've learned that these can be found in the UK, introduced by the Romans, apparently.

If I feed, starve and prepare them right, I wonder what Indian version of snails I might prepare. A change from the Burgundian butter and parsley version.

Any suggestions?

Would this be the first ever Indian snails recipe?

Phil

I am sure I replied to this post, where did it go?

I also have not heard of snails in Indian cuisine, but someone, somewhere in India must be eating and cooking them! Have you thought of trying one of the prawn recipes, like tandoori snail ;-)?

Sorry, I am not being much help.

I would echo what Mamta wrote but would add that there are recipes for curried mussels which might be adaptable :-)

What do snails taste of? Are they really worth bothering with?

Ugh! My husband loves them, but I can just about tolerate them if that is all that is available. That may explain why I have never bothered with them LOL!

Ugh Me too ...i wont be bothered when there are lovely range of meats out there. Now please don't tell me that slugs are tasty.

Hugh Fearcely EatsItAll tried to make a dish with slugs... he will eat anything... struggled with them... didn't much like the taste or effort..

Steve

Not a lot of enthusiasm for snails here, then.

The best snails I ever had were in the Western Cape in South Africa: really lovely, crumbling meat, from big vineyard snails.

I often eat sea snails here, in seafood restaurants: lovely! Great with aioli.

Picked my first 'petit gris' snail today and put it in a jar with lettuce. Not sure why I didn't see more of them: waited too late after the rain, perhaps.

Other mollusc recipes perhaps a good idea.

Phil

Squid and octopus;

Curry

Seafood pie

Seafood chowder

Seafood biryani

Scallops;there are a couple of recipes here.

rest of the Molluscs are missing. Anyone who cooks them in Indian ot other styles, is welcome to share their recipes, with pictures. I am not very likely to cook slugs and snails ugh!

Thanks, Mamta.

Slugs: no way! Non-edible snails: no way! But edible snails are another thing. They're not at all slimy, when properly prepared.

Picked more snails today, just after the rain fell. They were eating the tomatoes from my pots outside (still going strong, after all these months), and now I'm going to eat THEM! Once they're ready to be cooked, that is.

The French have got this one right, I think: they're very good at foraging for free food.

I might get them to feed on wild mint or wild fennel: that way, they're pre-marinaded.

Phil

I missed this post somehow Phil. I love your marinating technique LOL!

Feed them with fennel and mint to premarinate them!! I guess i would be giving them coriander / turmeric / cumin/ onions and green chillies...LOL!!!

Rajneesh: it was a miserable failure. The smallest ones had died, and flesh had rotted, whereas the older ones were still dying. I'd tried a small number: only seven, as an experiment. In the end, I had three which I'd boiled, and which looked fine, but it was hardly worthwhile.

So you were right to ask: is it worth the bother? Maybe not. I'll stick to eating sea snails in seafood restaurants on the coast, and perhaps vineyard snails when I'm next in Burgundy. Mind you, they're expensive.

Phil