Let’s Get Crabby with Masālā Crab!

“Without a doubt, one of my favorite American ingredients is blue crabs, a true delicacy! And a great value, I think.” – Jose Andres

If you haven’t guessed yet…we are talking CRAB today. More specifically, blue crab ( I know where all your dirty minds went).

Jose definitely has this right idea! Blue crabs are some of my favorite crabs. They are similar in flavor to snow and Dungeness crabs, slightly sweet and salty but their taste depends on their surrounding and where the crab comes from. Usually, in my opinion, the actual crab meat of a blue crab does not need much seasoning as opposed to the Dungeness, although, the Dungeness does produce more meat than a blue crab. Either way, you can’t really go wrong with whatever crab you choose.
For my masālā crab recipe I opted for the smaller blue crab, but you can certainly use whichever crab tickles your fancy.

I suppose a tickle from a crab wouldn’t be that great…would probably hurt…random thought.

Anyways.

I took a trip to the 99 Ranch Market in hopes for fresh crab meat to make an Indian style crab cake. Just like Vons  though, the crab meat was so fucking expensive.

I contemplated buying whole crabs and extracting the meat myself, BUT, I was wayyy too lazy for that.
Luckily, the 99 Ranch Market has a bunch of pre-cleaned and cut crustaceans and fishies.

I saw the blue crabs in the tank, went over to the fridge and they had packages of fresh blue crab, cleaned and cut.

This is more my speed. Less work for me. Woo hoo!

I have been craving masālā crab for a while, but, to be honest, my aunt in Australia makes the best crab and I did not see my dish coming close to hers.

SOOOOOO, instead of trying to make a dish like my aunts, I made my own version and added a little coconut milk to the mix.

DELISH.

The crab itself took minutes to cook but the real time is spent in the masālā .

These blue babies taste good on their own but I love grabbing the claws and sucking all the juices out of it. Take the natural juices that extract from them and then combine them with spices.

OMG. FINGER LICKING GOOD.

This recipe was inspired by a state in southern India, Kerala. Kerala is a beautiful, tropical paradise on the Malabar Coast. Almost every Keralan dish is prepared with various spices and coconut. The coconut provides a major richness to the dish and absorbs some of the heat from the fresh chilies and dried spices.

I love cooking Kerala style mainly because…

I love seafood.
I love coconut.

YUP.

I started by making the base of my masālā which consisted of ginger, garlic, coconut shreds, shallots, chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, pepper, garam masālā and water.

Slice up some onions; chop up some tomatoes and a grab a crab or two and this dish is ready to go.

Start by sautéing the onions in a pan and then add your fresh chilies.

Once the onions have browned a little add the paste then the tomatoes.

Your kitchen will be filled with crazy good smells.

Side Note: Remember when Emeril used to talk about smellavision? Why hadn’t that happened yet?! 

I took a piece of bread and dipped it into the mixture before adding the crab.
The smell was driving me crazy and I was feeling super hungry. BUT. Another reason to do this is to make sure all your seasonings are on point; salt, chili powder etc. This is a good way to check the seasonings without burning your mouth.

Once the crabs were added I let it cook for about 3 minutes. The blues cook super quickly so be careful not to overcook them or the meat will become mushy.

I hope you all enjoy this crabalicious meal!! xx