Nandu Kari - coastal crab curry

Coastal crab curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 8 cloves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 3 medium onions, finely sliced
• 150g freshly grated coconut (or desiccated coconut)
• 1 x 600g whole cooked crab
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, mixed with 2–3 tablespoons water
• 5 tablespoons coconut milk

Method

• To prepare the crab, first twist the legs and claws until they come apart from the body. Then cut the body in half and throw away the stomach sac, mouth piece, intestines and feathery-looking gills.
• Heat two tablespoons of oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cloves, peppercorns and coriander seeds and wait for them to sizzle. Now add the onion and fry over a low heat until golden – about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the coconut and fry until brown – this browning process is really important because this gives the curry its flavour. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz to a fine paste with 3–4 tablespoons water.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan and add the crab pieces and powdered spices. Mix well.
• Season with salt and pour in the tamarind. Bring to the boil, and scoop in the mixture from the blender.
• Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and heat through.

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time 40 minutes

Extracted from: Healthy Indian In Minutes Monisha Bharadwaj (Kyle Cathie, £14.99) with photography by Georgia Glynn-Smith.