Nadan Crab Curry|Kerala Style Crab Curry

Kappa(Tapioca) vevichath and 'nalla nadan' kottayam style meen(fish) curry is a match made in heaven. After every few weeks I get a craving for kappa vevichath, So two days ago, I made a crab curry instead of fish curry to have with kappa which turned out to be really good. This dish is spicy, tangy and the sweetness of the crab meat makes this dish take everything to another level of goodness.

There are few things to be noted:-

1. I used lightly flavored chicken stock in the curry but you can use  plain water. In my opinion chicken stock and seafood is a great combination.
2. You can adjust the spiciness of the curry by adding more or less chilli powder and pepper powder.
3.  You know the crab is cooked when the legs turn orange,

When I buy crabs I ask the 'fish fella' to cut and clean them for me, When I reach home, I check for any yellow substance in the cavity and remove them. Twist off the legs. Clean the crab under running water and with a kitchen scissor(or the back of  knife) give each legs and the fingers a crack for the masalas to infuse into the crab.

Ingredients

750g crab washed and cleaned

1 onion sliced

10 shallots sliced

1 heaped  tbsp ginger chopped

4 cloves of whole garlic

1 or 2 green chillies sliced(optional)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1  1/2 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder

2 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp meat masala

1 sprig of curry leaves

A handful of chopped coriander leaves

Tamarind pulp of 1 lemon sized ball soaked in 1 cup of water squeezed and drained

1 cup chicken stock or half of a chicken stock cube 

1/2 tsp sugar

salt

2 tbsp oil(use coconut oil for authentic taste)

Method

Heat oil in a pan

Add onions,shallots,ginger,garlic,green chillies,turmeric powder and a little salt and saute till it turns slightly brown.( This is gonna take a while)

Add chilli powder, coriander powder, pepper powder and meat masala saute for 10 seconds or till raw smell has gone.

Add 1 cup of chicken stock and allow it to boil.

Add curry leaves, tamarind juice, coriander leaves, salt and sugar and once again let it boil for couple of minutes. Check for salt and add salt if required.

Add the crab, mix well,cover the vessel with a lid and cook the crab for 8 -10 minutes. 

And when you open the lid, through the miracle of time, there you have it, finger licking good crab curry

 This is best served hot with ghee rice and kappa vevichath.

Happy Cooking!