Malay Hot Curried Crab

Hot and Spicy Curried Crab made with curry leaves, dried chillies, halba seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, chilli padi and jintan manis.

Recipe for Hot Curried Crab

Ingredients for curried crab:

• 2 kg fresh meaty crab – cleaned and halved
• Salt to taste
• 4 sprigs curry leaves
• 4 dried chillies, broken up
• Cucumber slices to serve with crab – optional
• 1 tsp halba seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 6 tbsp oil
• 20 twin shallots, sliced
• 4 cm piece cinnamon stick
• 2 limes
• 1/4 litre thick coconut milk extracted from 1/2 scrapped coconut

Spices to grind:

• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 20 dried chillies
• 10 ripe chilli padi
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 cm piece turmeric
• 1 tbsp jintan manis

Method:

1. Heat oil in saucepan. Fry firstly the shallots till golden brown, adding dried chilli, mustard seeds and halba, cinnamon and curry leaves.
2. Meanwhile mix thoroughly the ground spices with coconut milk and salt, pouring this into the saucepan, stirring well.
3. Add the crab and cook quickly over high heat till crab is cooked and dry.
4. Lift from heat and squeeze limes over.