Crab curry

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I use raw blue swimmer crabs in this recipe, but if you can get mud crabs, that's even better! This curry has quite a bit of sauce, so serve it with some boiled rice to soak it all up. I also like to have a side of pumpkin curry - the sweetness of the pumpkin complements the spiciness of the crab curry - and some cucumber slices for a bit of fresh crunch. Sauteed spinach(or other greens like amarath), chard with potato and puttu are also good side dishes as they're not heavily spiced. And for me, yoghurt, always yoghurt (even though dairy is not supposed to be consumed with seafood).

Ingredients

    • 4 raw blue swimmer crabs

    • 3 tbsp coriander seeds

    • 1 1/2 tsp raw rice

    • 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, divided

    • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

    • 1 tsp black peppercorns

    • 1 tsp turmeric powder

    • Salt to taste

    • 25g fresh ginger

    • 6 cloves garlic

    • 1 green chilli, or to taste

    • 1 tbsp oil

    • 1/4 tsp each fenugreek, mustard and cumin seeds

    • 1 stalk curry leaves, leaves picked

    • 1 onion, chopped and divided

    • 1 tomato, chopped

    • 1-2 tbsp tomato paste

    • 25g dried tamarind

    • 1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk

    • squeeze of lemon or lime juice

    • 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves,optional

Method

    1. To clean the crab, lift the v-shaped flap on the underside and pulling it to separate the outer shell from the body. Discard the outer shell which will contain most of the entrails. Pull off the spongy gills attached to the body and any entrails. Rinse the body to remove any bits of the gut. I like to cut the body in half down and separate the claws. Rinse well and drain. Refrigerate while you are preparing the spices.

    2. Soak the tamarind in about 1/2 cup of water.

    3. Dry roast the coriander seeds, rice, 1 tsp cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and peppercorns.

    4. Add 1/2 tsp of the unroasted cumin seeds to the roasted spices and grind to a powder.

    5. Grind the ginger and garlic to a paste.

    6. Extract the pulp from the tamarind by squashing the soaked tamarind with your fingers and straining to remove the fibrous bits. Extract all pulp from the fibrous bits by adding a bit more water to it and straining it again. Add enough water to the pulp to make up about 3 cups of liquid and set aside.

    7. In a large pot, heat oil and 1/4 tsp each of mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds. When the seeds pop, add half the chopped onion and curry leaves. Saute until the onions start to soften.

    8. Add the ground spices, the ginger garlic paste, turmeric, chilli and salt and stir well to combine. Add the crab, the remaining onion, tomato and tomato paste and stir well so that the crab is well coated with the spice mixture and the shells begin to turn red.

    9. Add the tamarind water and stir, scraping any spices sticking to the side of the pot into the liquid.

    10. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10-12 minutes.

    11. Stir through 1/4 cup of coconut milk and taste. Adjust seasoning and add a squeeze of the lemon or lime juice and/or more coconut milk if needed.

    12. Add the fresh coriander leaves, give it a final stir and remove from heat.

Notes:

    1. The amount of coconut milk will depend on how creamy the coconut milk is and you taste.If I make my own coconut milk from freshly grated coconut, I can use up to a cup if coconut milk.

    2. To have a more heavily spiced curry, add 1-2 tbsp of commercial curry powder when adding the other spices.

Crab curry