Snow Crab Chacooty

when you talk about crabs, we just think about steamed crabs dipped in a butter.These days we are health conscious and take every step not to consume too much fat. I was born in a mangalorean family(India) where the tradition is to cook curry with coconuts as the base and lots of different spices as the blend. Growing up my mom used to make this mouth watering crab curry with homemade spices. it seemed to me it was tedious and time consuming. First clean crabs, put together spices from scratch was not my thing. But when it comes to eating, it wouldn't take me much time to finish them.

So this recipe was inspired by my mom.She handed down this family recipe to me. She is in India and I miss her dearly, as she is thousand miles away. Cherish this recipe as it has my moms love and care and my desire to meet her soon.



Snow Crab Chacooty

1 pound snow crabs cleaned
1/2 cup dry grated coconut(soaked in water for 30 minutes)or fresh coconut
5-8 red mild chillies(with red color)
1 tblsp corriander seeds
1 tblsp mustard seeds
1 tblsp cumins seeds
1 medium sized onion slicesd
6-8 caroway(carom seeds)
1 1/2 tblsp Olive oil
3-4 pieces of garlic cloves
1/2 inch ginger piece
1 1/2 tblsp vinegar
Salt to taste
cilantro for garnish


Marinate: Marinate the crabs with 1/2 tbslp turmeric and salt and keep aside.

Preparation:

Roast all the above spices with onion in 1/2 tblsp olive oil in a flat surfaced iron griddle till light golden brown.


Ground all the above spices with vinegar to fine paste adding enough water to make thick consistency but not watery.
In a pot, heat 1 tblsp oil and then add the grounded paste and stir well. Add the cleaned crabs and cook till well done.
Garnish with cilantro.

Crab curry can be served with white rice or eaten as an appetizer.


servings:2-3 people.
preparation to cook time: 45 minutes