“The crab that walks too far falls into the pot.”

Crab is a seafood we really do not buy often as my daughter is allergic. But with Rhea away for her studies, and my Fishman at the back of me to pick up some fresh crabs, I finally gave in. We just loved the crab roast. It was aromatic, spicy and well balanced in flavour. We never really order crab at a restaurant, simply because it involves both hands, a lot of crunch and above all you really can’t savour the juiciness or sweetness of the crab meat. Within the confines of home, you can really relish the dish, lick your fingers, make a lot of noise, in short, have a blast. It’s well worth the effort.

This is a recipe I learnt from my cook – authentic, spicy, crab roast. The only add on ingredient is a teaspoon of jaggery to balance the flavour. Try it out and let me know.

Ingredients:

• Crab – 1 kg
• Dry red chillies 3-4
• Cummin seeds -1 tsp
• Saunf -1 tsp
• Onions -4 minced
• Tomatoes -2 minced
• Ginger- garlic paste-2 tbsp
• Coriander powder -2 heaped tsp
• Kashmiri chilli powder-1 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1 tsp
• Jaggery – 1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder-1 tbsp
• Curry leaves -a handful
• Salt and oil

Method:

• Clean the crab thoroughly. Remove all the dirt and wash well. Keep aside.

• In hot oil, add dry red chillies, cummin seeds and saunf. Fry well.

• Add the minced onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add ginger- garlic paste and minced tomatoes and fry on a low flame till a smooth paste is formed.
• Add all the powders and jaggery and fry well.
• Add a little water and fry well.
• Add salt and the crabs. Cover and cook on a low flame till the crabs turn pink and are tender.( 8-12 minutes)
• Just before putting off the flame, add pepper powder and fried curry leaves.

For fried curry leaves- shallow fry a handful of curry leaves in hot oil till crisp.

Chefs tips:

• Squid can be used in the place of crab.
• The masala has to fried on a low flame till fragrant.
• Water has to be used to facilitate the process of preparing the masala – a little at a time.
• Jaggery is added to balance the flavour.
• You can serve this with rice or even dosa.
• This serves 4-5 adults.

Till my next post,

Cheers,

Rose