Nandu varuval / crab fry

  
Generally Crabs are cooked in different ways,  Recipe which I have given below is very easy to cook but preserves delicious taste with tempting aroma. Give a try & let me know your comments.  Will post other crab entrees in future.

Ingredients:


Crab - 1 pound / 500 gms
Cilantro for garnishing.

For masala paste:

Onion - 2 ( medium, cubed)
Tomato - 1 (medium,cubed)
Green chili - 1 or to taste
Ginger - 1" chopped
Garlic - 6~7 pods
Cumin - 1/2tsp
Pepper - 1/2tsp or to taste
Fennel seeds/ sombu - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1/4cup(minced)
Mint - 1/4cup (minced)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Kuzhambu milagai thool - 11/2 tsp or to taste (or)
Red chili powder - 1 tsp or to taste
Corainder powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Salt - to taste
Water - 1/2 cup or as required.

For seasoning:

Oil- 2 tbsp
Fennel Seed / Fennel seed powder - 1/2tsp
Curry leaves - As required.

Method:


Grind all the masala paste ingredients together & adjust the salt to taste.Clean & wash crab and cut it in to desired size.In large bowl or in a Ziploc, add both masala paste & crab together.Mix well & Marinate it for atleast 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator( I usually keep it overnight, this will give nice aroma and juicy crab)Heat oil in a wide pan & add the seasoning ingredients as listed.Then add marinated crab to it & mix well.Cover with lid and let it cook in low heat for 15 ~ 20 minutes.Stir in between to avoid masala to burn at the bottom & there is no need to add extra water since crab itself tends to leaves extra water.Cook until masala thickens or oil starts to leaves the sides,  If you want dry crab let it cook for another 10 minutes in medium heat.Adjust salt & pepper to taste. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot..