I am a big fan of crabs from my childhood. My Aayi prepares crab for me and fish for my brother because I am not a fan of fish and he is not a fan of crabs. Now this has continued as my husband has joined my brother’s group. So there are distinct “crab-lovers” and “fish-lovers” groups at home. When we go to restaurants, I always ordered “crab thali” and my brother and hubby ordered “fish thalis”. Well…my sis-in-law keeps changing the group :D.
Aayi always prepared crab gravy . Though I had tasted many crab recipes in restaurants, the gravy was the only dish that I managed to cook. So my “crab” category had only one dish. Recently while I was talking to Deepa , she mentioned this point to me. She said I have to post more recipes in this category. She also gave this “crab fry” recipe to me and asked me to try it.
To tell the truth, I had my own doubts when I saw this recipe. Since the crabs are fried along with the shell, I was wondering how they will get cooked. But then I thought, when Deepa is telling it is so good, I should at least try once. At last after thinking for a long time, I decided to try it. I could not believe it…it was just amazing. Yummy, do not go on my words, just try it yourself and you will know what I am saying . Thanks Deepa for introducing me to this dish.
Ingredients: Cleaned crabs 4-5 Red chili powder 1 tea spn Tamarind extract 1/4 tea spn (Squeeze the thick juice of small line sized tamarind if extract cannot be found) Garlic 3-4 small (use 1-2 if using big ones) Rava (sooji) 2 tbl spns Turmeric a pinch Oil Salt
Ginger can also be added along with garlic to this dish. But I didn’t include it. Only the stomach part is used for the fry. Do not use the legs.
Method: Crush garlic (and ginger if desired). Apply it to crabs along with chili powder, tamarind, turmeric and salt. Leave it for around 1 hr so that the masala seeps in. I marinated it overnight. Heat tava and spread some oil on it. Roll the crabs in sooji(rava) and fry on tava. Close the crabs with a lid. Fry on a low flame. After 5-6 mins, turn them. Take care not to burn. They usually take bit more time than fish fry .
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 20-30mins (excluding marination time)
This is usually served as breakfast or evening snack.
For Bonda Ingredients: Urad daal 1 cup Coconut(fresh or frozen) 2 tbl spns Oil Salt
Method: Soak urad daal in water for around 1hr. Coarsely grind it without adding much water (if required add only a bit of water). Add coconut and salt. Mix well. Heat oil and drop the batter of small lime size in hot oil. Fry on a low flame till they turn golden brown. Take out on a kitchen towel.
For soup Ingredients: Toor daal 1/4 cup Moong daal (yellow) 1/4 cup Grated coconut(fresh or frozen) 1 tbl spn Ginger(cut into tiny pieces) 1/2 tea spn Green chillies 3-4 Cumin powder 1/4 tea spn Turmeric a pinch Coriander leaves 2-3 strands Salt
Method: Cook daals with a pinch of turmeric. Mash them to a smooth paste. Add all the remaining ingredients to mashed daal along with water (to bring the soup to watery consistency). While serving, take hot soup in a bowl add the bonds to it and serve immediately.
Serves : 2 Preparation time : 25mins
