Simple Crab Curry Recipe

All I can say if you’re making a Crab Curry it has to be hot. If it’s not is it even a Crab Curry? It’s the only way we eat crab. There are other ways but this is our favorite. Let me warn you, this is a messy curry to eat. So I recommend you eat it within the confines of your own home and with familiar people…Lol! If you saw my family eat it you would know what I am talking about. 

Loads of Chilli

I must be honest I tried not to make it so hot that it’s not edible. Our palates are pretty used to the heat so our hot may be too hot for some. My 12-year-old was able to eat it so it couldn’t have been that bad. He was huffing and puffing whilst eating it. But he kept saying “this is soooo good”…haha! You have to have that one child that is always on mum’s side. He’s that child.  If you can handle the heat you can add more chilli and chilli powder to this curry. The chilli that I used had quite a lot of heat to it, therefore I didn’t use that many. My mum would definitely have used more in her curry.

Masala

I know I am going to get asked what is masala. So for the benefit of my readers abroad. Masala is a blend of spices that we use here in South Africa. There is a recipe for Masala on my blog. You can attempt to make your own if you wish. Alternatively use chilli powder for this dish and add 1/2 tsp of cumin and coriander and a 1/4 tsp of ground fennel. My masala already had all the necessary spices so I didn’t add any extra spices. For this Simple Crab Curry Recipe you actually do not need a whole lot of spices. Simple can also taste delicious. Not every curry needs our whole cupboard of spices. When I call it a Simple Crab Curry Recipe then you know it really is simple. I think Crab is one of the easiest dishes to cook.  For this Spicy Crab Curry I used the large orange crab. It was really fresh and so delicious. When cleaning the crab try and make little cracks on them. I use the back of a knife to gently crack the crabs, just a little. But be careful not to hurt yourself. This allows some of the flavor to get in. My mum always fried her crab in the spices before cooking the actual curry. This allowed the spices to infuse and it made the curry really flavorful.  You will see some curries have a lot of oil. I must admit this curry doesn’t need that much oil. In fact if I do add too much oil I feel like I’m choking on the oil.  Can you imagine the heat and then adding a bucket of oil to it. No thank you, it doesn’t work for me. It may look very nice but it isn’t always pleasant to eat. If you prefer a more dry version of the Crab Curry you can reduce the amount of tomatoes. We eat the crab curry with rice so we prefer it a bit more saucy.

Tamarind is also optional for this curry. There are times I use tamarind and if I don’t have any I leave it out. Some people add more tamarind to their curry but I prefer a subtle hint of tamarind. It can also make the curry a little too tangy. If you don’t like the tangy taste I suggest you don’t add too much or leave it out completely. If you’re looking for something a little different this Goan Crab Curry sounds yummy. It’s next on my list of recipes to try. More Seafood Recipes to try: South Indian Fish Curry Goan Prawn Curry Spicy Prawn Curry First posted December 1, 2020 Updated April 29,2023 If you loved this, please share!

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