Chettinad Nandu Masala (Chettinad Crab Masala )
Like any other chettinad non-veg dish, this crab masal also is a mouth watering one. Due to the non availability of good crabs many don’t get a chance to cook this often. Moreover one should develop the habit of eating this as it is rather difficult to do away with the shell while eating. My children from the very young age had this with ease. May be the taste made them taste it however hard it may be. But once we know the trick, then it’s not a problem.
Crabs caught on and around no moon day (Amavasya) are said to be more fleshy and excellent in quality. So it is always better to buy crab during that week. While buying crabs always go for Medium sized ones, not very big ones as the legs also will be very big in that and it will occupy all the weight.
Ingredients
Crab-1 Kg ( 6 to 7) Remember crabs should be cooked immediately after cleaning since all the essence in the crab will ooze out as time goes by
Big onion-2
Tomatoes-2
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon
Coriander powder-1 table spoon
Red chili powder -1 table spoon
Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon
To grindCocunut-3 table spoons
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Kas Kas- 1 teaspoon or (cashews-5)
To season
Cinamon-3 small pieces
Clove-2
Cardamom-3
Curry leaf-little
Cumin seeds-1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Procedure
After getting the crabs cleaned add ½ teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and ½ teaspoon turmeric powder to the crab mix well and keep aside till you get the other things ready. You can break the crabs to two halves if they are quiet big. This will help the masala to go inside the crab.
Chop the onion and tomatoes nicely. If ready made ginger garlic paste is not there, make a paste out of 7 pods of garlic and ½ inch piece of ginger and two green chilies.
Grind the coconut to a smooth paste and keep aside
Keep the kadai in the stove. In two tablespoons of oil season the masal with the the items given in ‘To season’ .Now add the onions and stir for 2 minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste. Stir for 1 more minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, sauté nicely with a ladle that you smash the tomatoes. Sauté for 3 minutes. Now add the chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Add ½ teaspoon of salt also. Mix everything well. Now add 1 cup of water. Close the kadai with a lid and keep the flame in low and cook for 6 minutes. Now open the kadai and add the crabs .Mix well. The crabs will leave water. If you find it very dry, add half cup of water. Close the kadai and cook for 6 more minutes in medium flame. The crabs would have get cooked now. Open the lid and with a spatula mix everything well with the stove on. Move all the crabs to one side of the kadai in such a way that the masal alone is on the other side. Now add the grinded coconut into the masal .Mix the masal and the grinded coconut well. Check for the salt and hotness. If required add to the masal and now mix the masal over the crabs well and continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes so that the coconut in the masal also gets cooked. The masal will be semi solid. If you want it as a curry for Rice or paratha, add a cup of water and cook for 2 minutes. Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves
36 comments:
Good menu, Solai!
Very good food.
have a nice day
Thank you david
This crab makes me nostalgic... Very rare to find this sea crab where i live eventhough i am in Bay area, we find Monster (Big) crab,my husb and kid are very scary to see those creature.
Never tasted Chettinad style crab, but it should taste great with the masala.
Yes Cham.You can taste it in chettinad hotels when you visit India.Your comments immediately after I post new recipes encourages me a lot.Thankyou
If only I could eat off the monitor. I love so much nandu curry. Been ages since I had this !!
Hi i stumbled upon your blog a few days back...lots of interesting chettinad stuff...yummy i love chettinad food...tad bit spicy for our taste buds ...but just cannot resist it.
i would love to try your crab dish.Can i just use the crab meat instead of the whole crab since it is readily available without having to do with the tedious job of cleaning the crabs?
Fine Reshmi if you can get the crab
meat alone then it is great.But add the grinded cocunut also into the masal before adding crabs.Add the crab meat and cook just for 5 to 6 minutes since the meat will get cooked fast.
I feel bad Revathi.I think I am tempting many away from home by posting this recipe
Thanks for the quick reply
hello achi one suggestion can you change the your page's background color from black. Sometimes it hurts the eye
Good suggestion Sala.I myself is bored with the same background.Will soon work on it.
Thanks for sharing your precious recipe, i tried it and it came up fantastic
Your crab masala and pepper chicken turned out so fabulous, that i got a thank you card from my cousins after the meal. quite a delight to cook your recipes. looking forward to trying some more.
Thank you!
Awesome site! Mouth-watering recipes... Great going aachi!
Thanks Aunty, I live in america and this site is very useful for me. I don't eat crab, but my husband and my daughter loved it. The way you have presented is easy to cook and eye catching. Once again, Thanks a lot!
hi aachi! greetings to you. thank you for your reply for my doubt abt the rice option for the mutton biriyani.though am yet to try out the receipe, i did make a coupla other dishes..... nandu masala, pepper chicken (with naatu koli), mutton chukka, in the non-veg ones, and a coupla veg dishes too. Every dish came out very well and my entire family has become your fans !!! Your instructions and the attention to detail tips along with them make your blog more personal, it feels more like talking to someone rather than just reading out of a blog. GREAT JOB!!!! thanks once again, keep up the good work.
I love all your recipes... Your pepper chicken curry has become one of my home recipes.. I just love eating crabs... Here in the US i usually see cooked crabs in the store - mostly steamed and frozen. Can we use these in the curry somehow?
Hi Solai.....tried crab y'dy.....must say came out very gud....thanks for such a fabulous recipe........
Hello Aachi, I have tried carb masala today and it is very tasty.
Thaks for the recipe.....
Hello Achi,
We tried your Nandu masala and it came out great. Keep posting wonderful recipes.
Hello Aachi,
Your recipe is excellent, "fingerlickingly" Excellent to be exact.
Thanks very much for posting.
Kind Regards,
Shibu
hi solai,
i love crab dishes like anything. but dont know to eat it properly. many say that there is a t.echnique in eating crab. pls let me know the technique, if any is there. Also brief me how do i clean the crab
WE HAVE TRIED YOUR RECIPE AND IT CAME EXCELLENT...THANKS A LOT KEEP ADDING RECIPES THIS WILL BE HELPFUL FOR THE LEARNERS LIKE ME
hi solai,
i have tried most of ur recipes it always a hit in my home.thanks for sharing ur experience......
just have a look to this website.
http://shiva91.blogspot.com
Shiva,It is a real shame that you copy all my blogs and post it in ur blog.If u want to do some service just link my blog in urs.Dont copy it.Moreover I want to inform u that I have copy right for my blogs.so pl dont end up in trouble.
Actually i Started cooking Non -Veg after seeing yr receipes mam.My husband and kids just loves it.Thnks for the receipe.
hi aunty im a big fan of u i tried this receipe wow awesom no words to tell, me & my hubby enjoyed very much.hatts off to achi..
Tried this recipe.. it was same as my mom's curry... loved it very much
YUMMY RECEIPE TRY IT. ITS REALLY DELICIOUS
I tried out this crab recipe and it turned out delicious...
Im not a sea food lover, but my hubby is... He is really impressed with this crab masala.....Lots of good recipes to try out in your blog!!
Thanks aunty!
Priya
This is an awesome recipe. I tried it and it warmed my heart to see my husband eating with such relish and joy. Thank you so much Aachi. Your step by step instructions and the accurate proportions make it impossible to go wrong. Thanks again! I am a big fan of your blog. Keep up the good work. You are a lifesaver for many like me.
Dear Achi,
I would love to try your recipe for Sunday lunch.If possible, can you please teach us how to clean the crabs.
I am a beginner and dont know much about cooking sea food.
Thank you.
Abhirami
Dear Achi,
I made this dish for my family last weekend. It was so delicious! The crab meat became buttery and almost sweet after getting cooked in the coconut masala. Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
Abhirami.
Hello aunty,
We tried this recipe,it was awesome,the flavour of the masala with the crab went excellent,even the gravy gets the flavour of crab,we had with rice,it's worth the effort opening up the shells because the flesh is so tasty,we get crab cakes made of only crab meat but it's not like eating fresh crab meat,there is lot of difference in taste,it's a delicacy in coast,I remember once in Kerala,we tried crab baji,they catch small crabs and make baji out of the whole crab,they eat it with the shell which is not that hard,very delicious.thank you for the great recipe,skl
thanks a lot aachi!!!! i cant say by words(just want to hug u) . i blindly following ur receipies day today(newly start cooking). i became a fan of nandu masala. u know i start learn cooking from ur blog b4 that i know only to eat.keep going. its very useful for who start learn cooking.
Madam, really good post.
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