Posted by Summer! Its that time of the year for Crabbing. Weather plays a very important role in everyone’s lives. Summers all about Beach Sand and Fun. More of outdoor activities, BBQ or barbiees(pronounced that way) and summer holidays double up the fun for the entire family. Unlike Indian summers, where a bit of sweat beads can keep you cool and moist, Australian Summers (esp in SA) can be depletive and excruciatingly hot! However this year there’s been a bit of relief with mild showers interrupting days of extreme heat. We love crabbing. In December we headed to Semaphore with our friend and returned empty handed.
The last week we were off to Ardrossan a 100 min drive from where we live and was so worth it. Boy we were not disappointed. It was so engaging and we enjoyed every bit of it. I wanted to make a curry this time. This is as fresh as it gets since we went morning and returned evening with a good catch! The recipe is easy and simple and calls for pepper and some heat from the red chillies. I have used 2 varieties of chillies – the dry red chilli (long for heat) and the Bydagi (shrivelled skin ) for the colour. You could always sub with Kashmiri chilli powder . All freshly powdered and added to the recipe.
Recipe:
Crab : 5 – 6, cleaned, de-shelled and broken into 2
For Dry roast :
Pepper : 1.5 tsp
Red chillies : 2
Bydagi Chillies : 2 or use 1 tso Kasmiri red chilli powder
Sauteed and grind :
Onion : 1 medium, chopped
Ginger : 1 inch, chopped
Garlic : 3 cloves
Tomato : 2 chopped
Grind the above and To be added finally :
Fennel seeds /sombu/saunf : 1 tsp
Coconut : 1/3 cup
Turmeric : 1/2 tsp
Tamarind : Marble sized, soaked and pulp extracted
Fenugreek : 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves : few
Method:
Roast Pepper, both red chillies , coriander seeds till it turns slightly brown
Add the roasted spices alongwith fresh fennel seeds and grind them in a blender
In a pan add 2 tsp oil, add ginger, garlic and saute for a minute
To this Add onions and saute till it softens
And tomatoes and wait for it to soften a bit. I added 1 tomato to be sauteed and added and another I added while boiling the curry
Add the sauteed mixture to the ground spice and grind to a smooth paste with coconut. and little water
In a larger pot, heat 2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp fenugreek and red chillies
Add the ground mixture, turmeric and tamarind juice
Boil for about 7 minutes
Add the cleaned crabs, cover and cook further for 15-18 minutes
Serve hot with steamed rice
The Steamy Pot 