A friend and the crab curry

I have received complains that I am showing differential treatment towards vegetarians. I take the blame but at the same time I cannot help but feel happy that there are people who are reading my posts and sending me feedback on it. Since, friend had taken the pain to complain, I decided to reciprocate by mitigating their complain. The problem in this case was two - I would have to use old photographs and decide on whether I cook up a story to go with the photographs or do I just post a recipe!!! So, I decided to proceed on a blank slate and see what it leads to...

I had taken these photographs some time back while cooking crabs in a coconut based sauce. This is a sweet-pungent sauce that lends itself ideal to any kind of seafood. I was cooking for a friend who is a seafood enthusiast and enjoys Bengali food, so the combination was ideal for him. I also had a selfish motive; since Abhijit doesn’t eat crabs, anybody who likes crab is a good occasion for me to give in to my indulgence.

A morning tour of the fish market had yielded two fresh medium-sized crabs (about a kilo), which I first put into the freezer for about 30 minutes (the cold puts the crabs into a comatose stage), then put into a pot of boiling salted water for about 30 minutes and then cleans the crab after cooling. The fun part of cooking crab in my house is that though Abhijit does not eat crabs, he finds the ritual of cleaning and cooking crabs very interesting. So much so that this time around he completely forgot to click photographs while the crab was being cleaned!!!

While I was making a paste of about 2 tbsp of mustard, 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut, 2 green chili and ½ tsp of salt, my illustrious friend calls up to inform me that he just might not be able to make it for lunch. My first instinct was to throw live crabs, claws crackling, at his face…but telecommunications hasn’t made such advances…so I settled for a discussion instead. Thankfully the crabs and I triumphed. With renewed vigor, I heated about a tbsp of mustard oil in the wok; added 2 each of green cardamom and cloves, 1 inch piece of cinnamon, one bay leaf and 1 finely sliced large onion, sautéed till translucent and then added the crab pieces, ½ tsp of turmeric powder and red chili powder and cooked it for about 5 minutes.

Abhijit by this time had lost all interest in the crab and retreated back into watching television. So, in the loneliness of the kitchen I added the mustard and coconut paste that I had prepared to the crab, about ½ a cup of water, 1 large coarsely chopped tomato and simmered the sauce for about 5-8 minutes. Once the sauce is thick and the tomatoes pulpy, I poured in about ¾ cup of thick coconut milk (the tetra-pack variety) and a sprinkling of garam masala powder and salt to taste. Simmer for about 2-3 minutes and the crab is ready. The coconut milk lends sweetness to the sauce and the mustard it’s pungency.

As a footnote I must tell you that the crab curry was very well appreciated by my friend but life is strange and the friend could never come back for any more lunches or dinners to my house…now don’t let that stop you from cooking, eating and serving this delicacy because the crab held good…just that my friend didn’t!