There are innumerable ways of cooking crabs. All good things come with a price. One needs to develop the technique of eating crabs & you gradually learn with practice.You need to have a lot of patience to eat them. I love crabs & I am totally prepared to enjoy it in a relaxed manner. I certainly have immense patience to savour the crab meat as well as the masala. We enjoyed this Crab Masala with steamed rice as well as with bread. So go ahead & please try this delectable preparation .. I’m sure you will enjoy as much as we did.. Bon Appetit!!
Ingredients :
- 5 big fresh Crabs
- 2 big Onions
- 2 med. fresh Tomatoes
- Walnut size ball of Tamarind (extract pulp)
- 20 flakes fresh Garlic
- 1 inch size fresh Ginger (scraped & cut into pieces)
- 2 tsp. Poppy Seeds (Khuskhus)
- ½ fresh coconut (scraped)
- 7 dry Kashmiri Chillies(deseeded)
- 6 tbsps. dry Coriander Seeds
- 1 tbsp. Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
- 1 tsp. Garam Masala pwd.
- 5 Peppercorns
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- 5 Cloves
- 2 tsp. Fennel Seeds (Sauf)
- 2 Green Cardamom
- 1 small flake Javitri (Mace)
- A pinch of Nutmeg pwd.
- 1 tsp. Turmeric pwd.
- 5 tbsps. Vegetable Oil
- A pinch of Sugar
- Salt to taste
- Handful of fresh Coriander for garnishing
- 1 – 2 cups Water
Method :
Select fresh crabs; get it cleaned & cut from the fishmonger.
Wash the crabs & drain well. Keep it aside for further use.
Heat the frying pan/ tawa on med. heat.
Add a few drops of oil & dry roast each of the following separately till light brown & keep aside : one chopped onion, coconut, kashmiri chillies.
Roast together the following : coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, peppercorns, javitri, cardamom for a minute.
Gently roast together ginger & garlic for about a minute.
While roasting, keep stirring all the spices with a spoon.
Transfer all the roasted condiments & spices into a masala grinder/blender & grind to a smooth paste using a little water. Transfer to a bowl .
Rinse the grinder with water & reserve the masala water for further use.
Now chop finely the other onion & tomatoes.
Heat a deep wide pan or a large wok with vegetable oil on med. till hot.
Reduce the heat & saute the chopped onions till light brown.
Then slide in the chopped tomatoes, sugar; saute & cook till the tomatoes are soft & mashed well. Add turmeric pwd. & nutmeg pwd.
Transfer the ground masala paste to the pan/wok, mix & saute well till you get a fragrant aroma of the cooked spices.
Next gently slide in the crabs & stir well with a spatula till it is coated well with the masala.
Add the reserved masala water & let it steam for 2 mins. with the lid closed.
Add sufficient water as per desired consistency of curry/ gravy.
Now add the tamarind pulp. Combine well.
Let it come to a boil & cook for about 10 mins on med.
Simmer for another 15 mins or till the desired thick consistency of curry/gravy/masala without the lid.
Taste the gravy & then adjust salt to taste.
Adjust the tanginess of the curry/ gravy/masala according to taste.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with steamed rice, pulao, Indian bread or any bread of your choice.
3 Comments
excellent recipe ! cant wait to try it out
excellent recipe !
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