Crab Cake

Ingredients :

1. Crab meat - 2 cups
2. fresh soft bread slices -2
3. Mayonnaise -1/4 cup
4. Cracked pepper
5. Egg -1
6. Butter - 2 tbsp
7. Salt - to taste 
8. Spring onion - 1 tbs chopped (optional)

Method :

To get approximately 2 cups of  crab meat you would need 1 kg of live crab .
Clean the crab ,break into two pieces , add 1/2 ts of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder and 1/2 cup of water .Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the crab is just cooked.
Pick the meat from the shells , discard the shells .
Do not break the lumps of crab meat and try to keep it as whole as possible.
Crumble the bread slices with your finger tips
Add the mayonnaise and beaten egg to the bread mixture
mix it lightly without mushing it up
Add the crab meat and fold lightly with a spoon and sprinkle the crushed pepper.
Form into patties without compressing it too much .
Refrigerate for 30 minutes so they hold shape while frying
Heat a non sitck pan on medium heat
Add butter
Add the crab cakes and fry on medium flame for around 5 minutes until golden brown.
Flip and fry the other side.

Njandu pattichularthiyathu / Stir fried Crab

How to clean crab : When you buy crabs always make sure that they are alive and heavy for their size. I am not sure how true it is but folks back home always say that you should not buy crabs following a full moon day . There will be less meat in the crab during that time. The reason behind it being that the crabs get scared of their own shadow as they come out to feed and so hurry back to their hiding places and spend less time eating.

Once you bring the crabs home , the most humane way to kill them is to put them in the freezer for half an hour , or if you can tolerate the sight pour some boiling water on them .They die instantly.

To clean then turn them over so that the white belly side is facing up . The third specimen on the tray below.

Using a knife probe open the flap like part( the second specimen on the tray) and then use your hands to separate the upper shell from the body.
This way you can remove the shell and discard it.
What you have left is the body and the claws .Clean the body by washing it well under running water.Remove the gill like structures cut the body in 2 if needed.
Wash and drain and use for cooking.

Ingredients :

1. crab - 10 cleaned and cut into 2 pieces.
2. Shallots - 1 cup sliced
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped fine
4. Garlic - 8 cloves chopped
5. Kudam puli/cocum - soaked in water (to taste)
6. salt - to taste
7. Oil - 5 tbsp
8. Curry leaves - 2 springs
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Chilly powder - 2 tsp
11. Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp

Note : I ground the ginger,garlic,and all the spice powders together - you can either grind them or just add them chopped.

Method:
Cook the crab with the ginger,garlic,shallots, chilly powder,coriander powder,turmeric powder ,salt and cocum water until the crab is cooked and the gravy is evaporated.

Heat oil in a pan and add in the cooked crab and curry leaves stir fry until browned.

Njandu pattichulathiyathu / Stir fried Crab

Ingredients :

1. crab - cleaned(10)I used blue crabs.
2. coriander powder(1.5 tbsp),
3. chilly powder(1tsp),
4. turmeric powder(1/2 tsp),
5. cocum/kudampuli - to taste,
6. ginger, garlic and shallots chopped,
7. salt and curry leaves.

Method:
Combine all the ingredients and cook with 1/2 a cup of water until crabs are cooked and water is absorbed.
Heat oil in a nonstick pan and add the cooked crab mixture into it and fry until it is browned .

Chilly and Blackbean Crab

This was a pure trial recipe , it turned out good ...so good that I had to go back to the store to get more crabs the next day :-) .and this was the first time I ever tried Jonah crabs. They have huge claws and most of the meat is in the claws.When you buy Crabs make sure they are alive.

Ingredients:
Crab - cleaned and cut(2 big crabs).
shallots ,garlic,ginger - chopped fine.
Dry red chillies - soaked de seeded and crushed fine.
mix the following to form a sauce- Fermented soy bean paste , Soy sauce,Sirracha chilly sauce and Korean bbq sauce.

Method:
Heat oil and saute the chopped ingredients.
When it is fried add in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.
Add in the cleaned crabs and pour in 1/2 cup water and cover and cook until the water is gone and the crabs are cooked.
The sauces have enough salt in them so no need to add any salt.
I also added some spring onion and garnished with coriander leaves.