Indian Recipes
Mangalorean Crab Curry
If you’re a seafood lover, you need to try this Mangalorean Crab Curry at least once! The balance of spicy, robust, and tangy flavors are a total chef’s kiss ✨ Serve it with red rice, neer dosa, or appam for a hearty Sunday lunch
- Serves 4 people
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 35 minutes
- Total 45 minutes
A lot of people shy away from making crab at home, but let me tell you it’s a lot easier than you think! And this Mangalorean Crab Curry is one of the best dishes you can make at home, even if you’re a beginner.
The main flavor for this crab curry comes from dry roasting whole spices and frying aromatics separately to form a red paste called. This red paste forms the base a lot of Mangalorean seafood dishes and that is what is responsible for the strong and hearty taste of this curry .
The result is a rich yet comforting, aromatic, and flavorful dish that’s truly love from the very first bite!
Frequently Asked Questions
Richa’s Top Tips
- I prefer to buy whole crabs and then clean them at home myself. However, you can easily swap for pre-cleaned crabs to save time and effort.
- Byadgi chillies are generally quite spicy. If you have a low spice tolerance, then feel free to swap it for some dried Kashmiri red chillies.
- This crab curry tastes best with red rice, appam, dosa, or neer dosa.
- I generally make a large batch of the red paste and freeze. It stays good for up to 6 months when frozen and can be used to make so many different dishes.
This Mangalore crab curry is one of those dishes you can never go wrong with. It makes for the perfect Sunday lunch to share with friends and family.
If you enjoy this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment below. Don’t forget to send pictures of your recreations over on my IG @myfoodstory.
Don’t forget to check out more seafood recipes on the blog!
The recipe
Mangalorean Crab Curry
Spicy and robust, this Mangalore Crab Curry boasts of incredible balance of flavors and comfort in every bite 🫶
- Serves 4 people
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 35 minutes
- Total 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 kg medium sized crabs (6-7 no.s)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ tablespoon tamarind
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
For frying
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1 cup grated coconut (110 grams)
- ¾ cup onions thin sliced
- 8 flakes garlic
For dry roasting
- 15 kashmiri chillies (35 gms)
- 5 spicy red chillies
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper corns
For tempering
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 7 flakes garlic (crushed with skin)
- 1 sprig curry leaf
Method
- 1
Clean crabs, add turmeric powder and set aside for 10 minutes.
Dry roasting spices
- 2
Heat a frying pan and when it is hot, add all the dry spices and red chillies. Keep stirring so that the spices do not burn. After a minute or two, the seeds crackle and pop and will be well roasted.
- 3
Keep it aside.
Frying aromatics
- 4
Take 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan or kadai, add onions, garlic & fry for 1 minute.
- 5
Add coconut & fry until it turns light golden.
Making the curry
- 6
Add the dry roasted spices, fried aromatics, tamarind & ¾ cup water to a blender and grind to a very smooth paste.
- 7
Add the ground masala paste to a kadai or pan. Add a cup of water to the mixer to wash out all the masalas & add to the kadai.
- 8
Add salt & dilute the gravy with another ¼ cup water. See Note 2.
- 9
Cook the curry on medium heat & when it boils, add crab & cook for 5 minutes on medium.
- 10
Turn off the heat.
Tempering
- 11
Add ghee & oil to a small pan or tadka pan.
- 12
Add garlic & fry till light golden.
- 13
Add curry leaves, add the tempering to the curry & serve.
Notes
Kashmiri chillies may be replaced with byadgi chillies. You may adjust the consistency of the curry as per your preference.
Nutrition
- Calories 320 kcal
- Carbohydrates 20 g
- Protein 16 g
- Fat 22 g
- Saturated Fat 17 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
- Cholesterol 36 mg
- Sodium 1415 mg
- Potassium 604 mg
- Fiber 7 g
- Sugar 7 g
- Vitamin A 1068 IU
- Vitamin C 94 mg
- Calcium 74 mg
- Iron 3 mg
Common questions
Can I use this recipe with other meat or seafood?
Absolutely! This recipe works great with prawns, chicken, and even paneer if you want to make it vegetarian. However, the cooking times will differ if you are changing up the protein. So make sure to keep an eye out for that.
Can I make this ahead?
While it’s best to cook crab right before serving, you can easily make the masala in a large batch and store it in the fridge for up to a week. You can freeze the masala for up to a month.
