When people say Indians have a crab mentality, they aren’t far from the truth. Mariam in particular has a tremendous crab mentality – she goes mental over crabs! So when her friend’s sister-in-law aka kitchen superstar Roma whips up her signature crabs Mariam makes sure she treks up to Juhu to pay homage. The mountain-high pile of legs and claws ensures that it’s a communal meal shared by a host of family and friends every time and though the chillies can tear up the eyes of a spice naïf, they are so packed with flavours which burst forth with every crack that the sniffs and copious gulps of water all well worth it. So for all those looking for the perfect Sunday afternoon lunch idea to go with the beer, we couldn’t think of a better secret to let you in on! And the even better news is that on the days you're too tired or lazy to get down to the grind yourself Roma is happy to take orders to cook for you (prior notice required). You can contact her on +91-9833069302
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| Malvani Crab Masala |
Ingredients
5 / 6 medium crabs
3 tsp Malvani fish masala (available at local grocery stores)
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup dry grated coconut
1 cup finely chopped onion
9-10 garlic cloves ground to a paste
Red chili powder (according to taste)
8 -10 curry leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
The Grind
- Clean the crabs and separate the claws and the legs. (http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/06/04/how-to-clean-crabs/)
- Grind the small legs of all crabs to a paste and remove the juice from them.
- Sieve the ground juice through a muslin cloth and keep aside. This juice is used to make the gravy.
- Dry roast both the types coconut till they become brown and grind it to a fine smooth paste.
- Fry the chopped onions till golden brown and grind to a fine paste.
- In a thick bottom cauldron/wok put a little oil and fry the garlic paste & curry leaves. Then add the onion and coconut pastes alongwith the malvani masala and the red chili powder and fry till the oil separates.
- Add the crab juice and lemon juice and let it boil. Then add all the crabs (but no additional water)
- Since crabs are naturally salty, add salt only after tasting and boil till crabs are fully cooked
- Serve with chapattis or hot rice
- Enjoy the umami!