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!
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
Crab Curry
- Grind the raw rice and coconut until fine (or if using fresh coconut, grind until you have a fine paste). Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Place the crabs in this gravy/sauce and gently mix to coat the crabs with the thickened gravy.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the drumstick leaves or parsley or cilantro leaves and stir through while hot.
- Serve warm with steamed rice. Enjoy!