Kerala Coconut Crab

Ingredients:

Crab meat -1 pound or 500 gms of meat
Kokum ( Kodampuli) – 3 pieces ( A kind of tamarind, available in Indian stores, else substitute with a marble sized ball of regular tamarind, if you can’t find either, just squeeze some lemon before serving for some
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder – 1/2 tablespoon
Grated coconut – 1 cup ( If using frozen shredded coconut like I do, thaw for about a minute in the microwave)
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated – About an inch (Do not use store bought ginger paste instead, omit it if you have to)
Thai green chillies slit in half – 6-10 Warm water for poaching the crab and soaking
Kokum- 1 cup for fresh crab (1/4 cup if using cooked crab)

For the tempering:
Coconut oil – 1-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
Garlic pods, each sliced in half – 8
Small Pearl onions or Shallots– 3-4 (sliced thin or use half of a red onion instead chopped fine)
Dried Red chiles – 3 ( or 1 tsp red chilli flakes)
Curry leaves- 8 ( Optional, avaliable in Indian grocery stores. Do not substitute with curry powder)
Sprinkle salt to taste

For spiced buttermilk:
1 cup yogurt
1 cup water
3-4 fresh thai green chiles chopped
salt to taste

Instructions:
*Note: I used one and half of a Dungeness crab, which is atleast twice the size of the the smaller crabs my mom cooked in India. I cracked the small legs and kept the flesh intact but extracted the flesh out of almost all the other parts of the shell to make it easier on the diner- aka myself and the hubs! Also if you are not used to spicy food, please reduce amount of red chilli powder and green chiles to suit your tastes

If you are using uncooked crab meat, soak the Kokum in about a cup of warm water in a pot or saucepan ( but preferably an earthernware mann chatti). If you are using already cooked crab use less water, only about 1/4 cup, just enough to cover the Kokum pieces in a small cup.

Soak the Kokum until it softens and the water turns a brown colour- about 15 mins.

Now add all the ingredients including crab meat with the kokum water and stir gently together- just to flake up the flesh a little. Turn on the heat to a medium and bring the liquid to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring very occasionally till all the water has evaporated.

In a separate pan or skillet, heat the coconut oil and just before it begins to smoke, add the mustard seeds and wait for all of them to finish popping. Cover with a lid to prevent the seeds from popping all over your kitchen! Once it begins to slow down to just a few pops, add the cumin and stir until it turns brown and no longer smells raw. Careful not to burn or blacken them. Add the garlic and lightly brown it, then the onions and golden brown them too.

Add the chilli powder and curry leaves together and switch off the heat just as curry leaves begin to stiffen up. Now add the crab mixture to the tempering in the pan, salt to taste, and stir gently on low heat until the dish is completely dry and flavours are well combined. Enjoy with rice and spiced buttermilk ( recipe follows) Tastes best the day it’s made.

For the spiced buttermilk:
Stir in a little water at a time into the yogurt whisking with a spoon constantly to make buttermilk ( or just use store bought buttermilk- which is usually a little more hard to find than yogurt.) Stir in the green chiles and enough salt to taste Serve chilled or at room temperature, pouring over rice or drinking as is.

Although traditionally served with rice, I think this crab dish also tastes great with salad and a soft boiled egg. and although this dish may sound complicated, the part that will take the longest is the shelling of the crab, and you can just use crab meat instead or even most white flaky fish as mentioned above. Everything else is quite easy.

From magrecipes.blogspot.com