During my last visit to Goa, my brother got lots of crabs. I normally don’t buy crabs in Bangalore as we normally don’t get fresh ones here. My mom made delicious crab recipes like rava fried crabs and crab curry. My hubby loved my mom’s easy crab curry recipe and asked me to learn the authentic recipe from my mom. So my mom taught me the recipe to prepare Goan style crab curry. Today’s Goan crab curry recipe is an authentic one. It is my mom’s recipe.
Mom’s recipes are special. I remember, in my childhood mom used to break the shell and give me crab meat to eat. I don’t remember when I learnt to eat crabs. But yeah, it does take lot of time and patience to break the shell and to eat crab meat. It’s fun. It’s yummy.
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Goan crab curry is an authentic crab recipe made in Goa with fresh crabs and masala curry made of fresh grated coconut and ground spices.
Another method to prepare this curry
There is another version of crab curry on my website. In that I have added tomatoes and many different spices. But in today’s recipe, you will see only minimal ingredients. That’s how my mom makes it and it turns super delicious. The masala gets filled with flavor of crab meat. Don’t worry, it does not smell bad. The cloves and turmeric powder added to the curry gets rid of the fishy smell to some extent.
These days Goan fish markets are flooded with crabs. If you get a nice fresh catch, I would recommend you all to try butter garlic crabs. It is super delicious dish. In Goa, crabs are called “Kullyo” in Konkani and this dish is called as “Kullyachem Tonak”. You can serve this dish with phulkas or steamed rice or Goan pav, also known as “Poderale unde”.
Try this recipe and enjoy the dish. I am sure, you will love it.
Also try top 10 Goan fish curry recipes.
Watch the video recipe of Goan crab curry below.
Goan Crab Curry / Kullyache Tonak
Ingredients
- 4 crabs
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
For marinating crabs:
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
For masala gravy:
- 4 dry red chilies (Kashmiri or Byadgi)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
- 4 cloves
- 1 cup freshly grated coconut
- 1/2 medium sized onion cut length wise
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Wash the crabs and cut into big pieces. If the legs are big, cut them into 2 pieces.
- Marinate the crabs by applying ingredients mentioned in “For marinating crabs” section. Keep them in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Let us make the masala gravy ready:
- Heat a kadai and add oil. Add onion and saute. After onion turns pinkish, add coriander seeds, cloves and dry red chillies and sauté.
- Add freshly grated coconut and roast on low flame till coconut turns brownish.
- Now add turmeric powder, mix and switch off the gas. Let the roasted coconut cool down.
- After the roasted coconut cools down, add it to a mixer along with ¾ cup water and make a smooth paste. Do not add too much water at this point. We can add water later while boiling crabs. Keep the ground paste aside.
- Heat a kadai and add 1 tablespoon oil.
- Add finely chopped onion and sauté till onion turns pinkish.
- Now add marinated crabs and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Next, pour the ground masala from mixer and mix well.
- Add ½ cup water and mix. You can add more water if needed.
- Mix well and simmer on low flame for 10-15 minutes with lid of kadai/wok covered.
- Add salt to taste and mix well.
- Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Switch off the gas and serve hot with phulkas or pav.
Video
Notes
- While adding salt in curry, remember to add carefully as salt has been added while marinating crabs.
- While boiling crabs in curry, be careful. If you boil for too long, the crab meat will get dissolved in the curry.
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