Grab that Crab

I like cooking and experimenting new dishes, but I generally stay away from seafood. Every once in a while I feel like having mom’s Fish Molee or fried fish, and that’s about the only time I buy fish. Yesterday, I decided to buy some fish for my dear daughter who’s a content little kitty cat if she has fried fish for lunch. 
    

From my fish monger, I bought my usual - kingfish, mackerel and sardine - and to my utter surprise, I bought some crab too! I’ve always wanted to cook crab, but the mess of cleaning it inevitably puts me off. Luckily for me, I got the crab cleaned and ready to cook.

Nattu’s Crab Masala

I knew for sure that I had to make something really spicy if my hubby had to eat it. So I looked up the Internet and came up with this recipe. Of course, I had to do it my way - some tweaking here and there and the rest is history! 
   
Ingredients:

Crabs -  4-5 medium, cleaned and halved
Onion- 1 small, finely chopped
Ginger - 1” piece, finely chopped
Garlic - 5-6, finely chopped
Chili powder - 1 tsp ( I also added 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder for the intense colour)
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Fenugreek (uluva) powder - ½ tsp (I also added a pinch of powdered fennel seeds)
Tomato – 1 medium, finely chopped

Salt, Water, Curry leaves, Coconut oil
     
Method:

1. Heat some oil in a deep wok and add curry leaves.
2. Add the finely chopped ginger and garlic and sauté till light brown.
3. Add the chopped onion and sauté till golden.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add all the powders and sauté well.
5. Add the chopped tomato and sauté till the tomato turns mushy.
6. Add around 2 cups of water and salt to taste; bring to a boil.
7. Finally, add the crab, cook covered, mixing occasionally.
8. Cook for about 15 minutes, and then remove the lid and cook until the gravy is thick enough to coat the crab.
9. Pour some coconut oil and garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with appam or rice.

Tip: Once the crab is cooked, let it rest for a few hours. This way the crab absorbs the spices in the gravy. You can later thicken the gravy before serving.

I made this before lunch and served it for dinner. Hubby liked it..not too bad for a first time!

  

I'm on a seafood diet - I see food, I eat it. ~ Dolly Parton