Curry Crab

Crabs -  the beautiful pair of Crustaceans above are of the Dungeness variety which inhabits the waters of the west coast of North America. It's flesh is tender and sweet. I have to admit, that despite really enjoying crab, I have a bit of a hard time buying live crab and then having to be the assassin. I get the Chinese supermarket to cut and clean it for me. When I buy smaller crabs, I throw them into the freezer and when they are "incapacitated" I cut them. It makes me seem like such a hypocrite - eating the meat but wanting to ignore the gory details. In my defense though, we have grown so used to pretty neat packaged meat and seafood where you can barely recognize the meat from its source. 
The crab shown above came home intact so I could take pictures; after which mum and I cut them up, thankful that their pinchers were bound with heavy elastic. It is no easy task to separate and cut the crab, so I recommend getting the fish monger to do it for you. Mum and I pried open the top shell and then cleaned out the finger like mass and then proceeded to cut into half. We then used a cleaver on the claws. The process of cleaning the crab is long but the end result is worth the effort.


Skill Level: Complicated due to the prep involved

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GRAVY:

• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1/2 cup coriander seeds
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeers)
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRAB

• 2 large onions sliced
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 green chilies 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 3 Tbsps vegetable oil
• 3/4 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp tamarind paste (can be found in Indian/Chinese stores)
• a pinch of sugar (to balance tartness)

• 1/2 cup of water
•  2 Dungeness crabs

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GARNISH

• 2 shallots( sliced )

• 10 curry leaves
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 

METHOD: 

1. First the masala (spice mixture) for the gravy
2. Add oil to the wok, set the heat on medium and put in onion, ginger,fenugreek and chili. Stir for 1-2 minutes and then add all other ingredients except the coconut. Stir continuously to prevent burning
3. When the coriander seeds get crisp (approx. 3 minutes), add the desiccated coconut, stir and just when the coconut starts to brown, turn off the heat and move the wok from the burner and continue stirring.
4. Allow to cool, then put into a coffee grinder and grind into a fine powder 
5. Put into an airtight jar. This keeps for 6 months in a cool dark place
6. Now for the crab part 
7. Cut, clean and wash the crab and squeeze out excess water
8. Heat oil in a wok, fry onions, ginger and chili for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes.
9. Add the crab, water, salt, turmeric and 4 Tbsp of the spice powder (recipe above) 
10. Stir for a few minutes, add tamarind and sugar, cover and allow to cook on medium heat stirring occasionally 
11. Once the colourof the crab turns orange (approximately 8-10 minutes) the crab is done
12. Check seasoning and adjust as needed
13. Now the garnish
14. Heat oil, add the curry leaves, saute the shallots and pour over the crab curry 
15. Serve with sweet buns