Crab Masala
Crab meat folded into a thick onion and tomato masala with ginger, garlic, coconut oil and black pepper.
Photograph credit: Crab Masala, Inani Beach Cafe (201551) by Moheen Reeyad · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
How to Make Crab Masala
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Heat the oil in a wide pan. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves until they crackle.
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Add the onions and cook for 8 minutes until golden. Add the ginger and garlic paste and green chillies for 1 minute.
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Stir in the coriander, turmeric and chilli powder, then add the tomatoes and salt. Cook for 7 minutes until thick and the oil shows at the edges.
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Fold in the crab meat and pepper. Warm gently for 4 minutes without stirring hard.
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Finish with the lime juice and fresh coriander.
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Small Things That Help
- Check the crab meat for small pieces of shell.
- Do not cook the crab for long; it is already cooked.
- Serve at once, while the pepper is sharp.
If You're Missing Something
- Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the green chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
- Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
- If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
What to Serve with Crab Masala
- Steamed rice
- Appam
- Toasted bread
- Lime wedges
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Gluten-Free Naan, Idiyappam, Kerala Appam.
Keeping and Reheating
Best eaten the day it is made. Keeps in the fridge for 1 day.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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