Crab curry is one of my favorite curry. We lived in Bhopal for 8 years and we would get any crab here as there was no sea nearby. So whenever we visited Bombay, Goa, Bhatkal or Bangalore during holidays, our relatives would usually make fish, prawn or crab recipes knowing that fresh seafood was not available in Bhopal. It would be a real treat to have cheerful meal and chat with all the relatives whom we would be meeting after long time.
I got crab from Whole foods last week and prepared Crab curry. They cleaned the crab for me and cut it into small pieces. I usually don't buy whole crab as it is a messy procedure to clean it. The crab smell lingers in my kitchen and on my fingers and my husband hates the fishy smell. The crab curry should be prepared at least 3-4 hours before serving as the crab needs time to absorb all the flavors. I also serve it with boiled rice or "Ukdo Tandla Sheeet" in Konkani. Here is the crab curry recipe.
Ingredients
1 crab cleaned and cut
2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
2 medium red onions
1 1/2 cups coconut
3/4 teaspoon tamarind paste
1-2 green chilies
3-4 red byadgi chili
coconut oil or any other oil
Method
If the crab legs are big and hard then they can be beaten with a pestle or better following the ancient way like me- with a clean stone which I keep handy for crushing garlic, ginger or other spices. Roast the red chilies in 1/4 teaspoon oil for 5-10 mintes on low flame. Grind coconut, red chili and tamarind into a very fine paste. Keep the masala aside. Finely chop 1 1/2 onion and green chili. Crush the ginger, onion and green chili with your fingers or with the back of a spoon or cup. Add the coconut masala and the crab pieces. Cook covered on a low to medium flame to get the curry to a boil. Finely chop the remaining half onion and fry it in coconut oil on a low flame till it is pinkish-brown. Garnish the curry with the fried onion and serve it with hot rice.
