Sri Lankan Crab Curry – by Dini k

Source:https://www.theflavorbender.com/about-dini/

Hi! I’m Dini, a third culture kid by upbringing and a food-geek by nature. I was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in New Zealand and lived in Australia, and then the US, before moving to Canada in 2019! My food is a reflection of those amazing experiences!

Spicy Sri Lankan Crab Curry – made with fresh blue swimmer crabs, and an aromatic and flavorful Sri Lankan curry base. It’s a delicious, comforting, authentic Sri Lankan seafood curry dish! 

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Ingredients:

Crab Curry

• ▢½ tbsp raw long white rice
• ▢4 tbsp ¼ cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened) OR freshly grated coconut
• ▢1 inch ginger minced
• ▢6 garlic cloves left whole
• ▢½ yellow onion finely chopped
• ▢1 ½ tbsp of unroasted curry powder recipe below – see notes for substitutes
• ▢½ tsp cayenne pepper I use 1 heaped tsp because we like it extra spicy
• ▢2 tsp sugar
• ▢1 tbsp tamarind paste
• ▢6 – 8 curry leaves
• ▢1 – 2 pandan leaves fresh or dried
• ▢2 – 3 fresh red or green chili peppers or 2 serrano peppers, sliced or slit in half
• ▢1 can of coconut milk good quality
• ▢5 – 6 FRESH blue swimmer crabs cleaned and cut in half (see video in post for cleaning instructions)
• ▢Salt to taste
• ▢Drumstick leaves traditional, but optional
• ▢If you can’t find curry, pandan or drumstick leaves you can add some flat leaf parsley or cilantro instead
• ▢Water as needed

Unroasted Curry powder (Please see notes)

• ▢4 tsp whole coriander seeds
• ▢3 tsp whole cumin seeds
• ▢½ tsp mustard seeds
• ▢1 ½ tsp black peppercorns
• ▢1 tsp fennel seeds

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Instructions:

Curry Powder

1. Finely grind all the spices in a spice grinder. Set aside. If you are using roasted curry powder, add another 1 tsp of fennel seeds, ground to a powder (or ½ tsp ground fennel).

Crab Curry

1. Grind the raw rice and coconut until fine (or if using fresh coconut, grind until you have a fine paste). Set aside.
2. Add about 2 tbsp of coconut oil (or vegetable oil) into a large saucepan (there has to be enough space to gently stir the crabs) and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and saute for a few minutes until the onions have softened.
3. When onions are soft, add the 1 ½ tbsp of the curry curry powder, cayenne pepper and coconut/rice mix. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes until the spices become fragrant.
4. Add the tamarind paste, sugar, chili peppers, curry leaves and pandan and ¾ of the coconut milk from the can. Add a generous ¼ tsp salt (more can be added after you taste it later). Bring it to a boil.
5. Place the crabs in this gravy/sauce and gently mix to coat the crabs with the thickened gravy. 
6. Bring it to a boil on medium high heat and then lower the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, until the crabs turn pink and are cooked through. Make sure to turn over/stir the crabs half way through cooking to make sure they are well coated with the gravy while being cooked.
7. Add extra coconut milk if you prefer it more creamy, or up to ½ cup of water to dilute the gravy. Add salt to taste.
8. Add the drumstick leaves or parsley or cilantro leaves and stir through while hot.
9. Serve warm with steamed rice. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

NOTE 1 – If you’re using Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, make sure to add an extra 1/2 tsp of ground fennel to the curry powder when you cook this crab curry.