CHILLI CRAB
It is a recipe in which the sweet tasting crab meat is combined with aromatic spices and heat of the chilies.
INGREIDIENTS:
4 small live crabs of 250g each or 2 crabs of 500 g each
120 ml oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 cm piece of ginger, grated
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon ground coriander
¼ tablespoon ground turmeric
¼ tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tamarind puree
1 teaspoon sugar
2 small red chilies, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
First put the crabs in the freezer for 2 hours to immobilize them, after that with a large heavy-bladed knife cut off the big front claws from each crab and then twist off the remaining claws. Now turn the crab over and pull off each apron piece, then pull out the spongy grey gills, discarding them. Cut each of the crabs body into 2 or 4 pieces depending on the size of a crab and crack the large claws with the handle of the cleaver or a rolling pin. Rinse off the chips of the shell under the cold running water and pat dry the crabs with the paper towels.
Put half of the oil in a small bowl with garlic, turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, tamarind, chilies, and salt according to taste and mix it all until form a paste. Now heat the remaining oil in a large heavy-based sauce pan over medium heat, add the paste and stir it for a minute or until aromatic. Add the crabs into the pan and cook it for 2 minutes making sure that the spice mix is rubbed into the cut edges of the crab, then add 50 ml of normal water cover and steam the crabs, tossing the crabs couple of times during cooking for 5-6 minutes or until cooked through. Crabs when cooked properly will turn pink or red and the flesh will go opaque. At last drizzle a little of the liquid from the pan over the crabs, garnish with coriander leaves on top and serve it hot.