Crab Meat Masala

                                                                             

Crab Meat Masala

Crab meat is  rich in protein,  vitamins and minerals,, crab meat is also low in fat and has many more things  in it but it is not a universal favourite. In my extended family not all members loved to eat crab meat.  I liked it, I like it and so does my daughter.    I came to know   about her craving  for crab meat when we went to Goa last summer.   She developed a liking for eating crab meat  from my kind and supportive neighbor, her Dadi, who used to give her Maharashtrian crab curry and when she asked me to make it during my vacation in June-August she compared  mine with that of Dadi’s and  gave her grade “Outstanding” and me “Excellent”!

I cooked crab after about two decades.  So please correct me if there is any lapse on my part.

 Here goes the recipe!

Ingredients:

Crabs—6

Onion—2

Tomato—1

Garlic-ginger paste—2tbsp

Turmeric powder—1/2 tbsp

Chili poder—1/2 tbsp

Saunf—1/2tbsp

Cumin seeds—1/2tbsp

Cardamom—3-4

Clove—3-4

Cinnamon stick—one inch 

Curry leaves—5-6
Coriander leaves--one small bunch 

Garam masala—1/2tbsp

Mustard oil—two tbsp (optional)

Cleaning and washing:

After removing  shells  and claws the  crab meat should be cleaned and washed  properly. Preferably, in the final round  it should be washed two-three times with salt water. The bigger claws should be kept for the curry and the  smaller ones for the soup (we have already seen the excellent soup  with appetizing aroma  in a previous post).

Marination:

Add  little turmeric powder, garlic-ginger paste, oil and salt mix them and keep them in a fridge for one hour for marination.

Method:

Heat oil in a kadahi throw in some cumin seeds, whole cardamom, clove, cinnamon sticks and curry leaves and after they splutter, add  onion pieces, wait till the onion pieces become golden brown then add garlic-ginger paste and turmeric powder and chili powder and saunf . Fry them on low heat till the oil starts separating. Add tomato pieces and fry it on low heat for about five minutes. Add garam masala powder  and salt, cover it and fry it for a few minutes. Now keep it aside.

In a pan heat little oil and add the marinated crab meat, sauté it for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the crab meat to the masala in the kadahi with finely chopped coriander leaves and fry it for five-six  minutes when it gets dry add little water (it depends what consistency one likes , my daughter likes thick curry) and  let it boil on low heat. Keep on stirring it gently from time to time.

A beautiful aroma will waft away from the kitchen   and spread out in the surroundings,  gently knock at the doors of  neighbours  to invite them to join the table to make it “more the merrier!”

You need enough rice/chapati/nan to wait impatiently for their turn on you when you are negotiating with claws to bring out the tasty meat to your palate or trying to experience the taste of juice from the succulent crab meat!

Enjoy!