Crispy fried squids with refreshing yoghurt and tomato sauce

One of the most popular sea food dishes in Greece! Fried squids are "a must" for many people when dining out at some sea food and fish tavern. Served as a main dish or part of a variety of other meze dishes, fried squids are synonymous to Summer evenings next (or even not) to the sea with good company and chilled ouzo! Most people enjoy fried squids more at a tavern than at home because they can be messy since they tend to splatter quite a lot while frying. But if you follow the steps carefully you will not have any trouble. If you can't find fresh squids then frozen is no problem but always (for this specific recipe) you should choose large squids which you can easily cut in rings. And here is a little tip regarding splattering... most people prefer baby squids for frying and this is the ideal way. The problem is though that the whole squids keep water inside and this has as a result to burst in the pan while frying causing all this splattering and often they end up more boiled than crispy... In that case, what you have to do is to cut a tiny bit of the end of the squid body so to leave any moist to escape while frying. It is a good tip this one but from my experience so far it doesn't seem to work always. At the taverns they manage better thanks to those huge pots where the squids are deep fried in litres of oil, something that it is not so easy to do at home
 

Recipe of Vassilis Kallidis,

from "BHMAgourmet" magazine of "TO BHMA" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4 people):
2 large squids (about 800gr.), preferably fresh (cleaned, washed and very well dried)
½ a water-glass of buttermilk
1 water-glass of all-purpose flour
corn oil for frying

For the sauce:
1 pot (175-200gr.) of Greek thick yoghurt
1 tsp of tomato paste
½ clove of garlic, minced
1 lemon, the juice
a few leaves of fresh spearmint, finely chopped
salt

Method:
Cut the body of the squids into 1-2cm thick rings and also keep intact the heads and the tentacles.

Put the buttermilk in a bowl and the flour in another.

In a spacious frying pan warm the oil very well (not fuming though) on medium-high heat. You will need to fry the squids in batches.

Dip the squid rings, their heads and tentacles first into the buttermilk and then pass through the flour.

Shake a bit to discard the excess flour and put in the hot oil. The oil should cover the squids up to the middle.

Turn the heat to medium and fry for about 10 minutes, turning them 1 time, until they are golden in colour and crispy on all sides. Transfer with a slotted spoon on kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.

For the sauce, beat all the ingredients well in a bowl and serve immediately along with the crunchy squids.