Crab Curry
A spicy crab curry accompanied by rotli, or a fresh slice of white bread is heaven on a plate. My tastebuds dance.
I usually make crab when it’s cold and rainy but last week I felt like seafood and purchased blue crab from a local fishmonger. I wasn’t impressed by the size of the crabs, to be honest, but once the cooking was done and the tables set, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of meat on my plate. There was so much. I was in my element.
Crab is a tricky one to clean and I don’t enjoy the process. I usually soak them in white vinegar for 10 minutes and give the shells a gentle scrub. Easy peasy. I prepare all my ingredients while the crabs soak so there’s also no standing around and time wasted.
I’ve also learned over the years to grate one onion into my pot if I want a thicker gravy. I add my dhania (coriander) to the pot while the curry cooks because I find it adds more flavour to the gravy. Lastly, the silver bullet of this dish is most certainly good tamarind. Purchase a good block in the store. Soak half of it in water and get in there with your hand to make sure it dissolves well. Tamarind is a fruit and is sweet and tangy. It will transform your crab curry.
Did you know: Crab, in general, is carb free, 1 cup has roughly 18g of protein but it is slightly high in cholesterol. However, I’d imagine they’re safer to eat than prawns because they are low in saturated fat.
Ingredients
1/8 cup oil
1 kg blue crab
6-8 rosa tomatoes
3 big onions (grate 1)
tamarind soaked in 1 cup of boiling water
4 green chilies - slices in half
1 star aniseed
3-4 bay leaves
1 stalk curry leaf
3 tsp mustard seeds
3-4 tbsp good quality masala
tsp turmeric powder
1 tablespoon dhania and jeera powder
1 tablespoon garam masala + extra for garnishing
1 thumb freshly grated ginger
5 cloves of garlic
1 bunch coriander
Salt to taste
Method
In a large pot, add oil and heat it well on medium to high heat.
Add your onions, chilies, mustard seeds, star aniseed, bay leaves, and curry leaves to the pot.
When your onions are translucent, add all your masala, whole garlic cloves, and ginger to the pot and give it a good stir.
After about a minute, add tomatoes to the pot and let the mixture simmer until the oil starts to come to the surface. The curry should be on medium heat now and simmering. Don’t let it stick to the bottom of the pot. If it does, add a tiny amount of water to your tomato and onion mixture and stir well.
Season your curry with salt - to your liking.
Add some coriander to the pot and then add your crab.
Coat the crab well in the gravy and you want to mix your tamarind to form a paste very similar to a thick milkshake.
Add the tamarind to the pot and coat the crab with the gravy.
Let the curry simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Taste the curry at this point and check the salt.
Garnish with more garam masala and fresh coriander.
Serve hot.