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Lal Chiti (Red Weaver Ant Curry)

Lal Chiti (Red Weaver Ant Curry) is a traditional Indian recipe (from Odisha) for a classic vegetarian curried dish of green banana skin that can be served as a chutney or a main meal with rice and chapatis. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Red Weaver Ant Curry (Lal Chiti).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : CurrySpice RecipesIndian Recipes

This is a classic curry from Odisha, India where the native red weaver ants are routinely collected. They're winnowed to remove wings and then dried on a hotplate both to kill them and to preserve them. The ants are made into this curry and to the famous ant chutney of the region.

The ants have a fierce and very painful bite, so their collection is not for the faint-hearted. This is a quick and simple curry and most edible ant species can be substituted.

Ingredients:

60ml cooking oil
6 garlic cloves, sliced lengthways
2 red onions, chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sea salt
300g cooked red weaver ants

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok or kadhai. When the oil is hot add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute then add the red onions and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes then sprinkle over the turmeric, curry powder and salt.

Stir well to combine and cook for 2 minutes then add the cooked red ants. Stir to combine, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.

After this time, stir everything well then take off the heat and serve accompanied by steamed short-grain rice, fried mango slices and red ant chutney.