Sri Lankan Crab Curry

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

Instructions:

Curry Powder

• 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

• 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!

Tips

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.