Jaffna Blue Crab Curry

Ingredients

• 3 lb Blue Crab, cleaned and cracked into pieces
• 3 tbsp Jaffna curry powder
• 1½ tbsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 onions, chopped
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inches ginger, minced
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 piece pandan leaf
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp roasted rice flour, for thickening

Method

1. Toast the fenugreek seeds in the dry pan until they darken slightly, then set aside — they go bitter fast, so watch the color.
2. Heat the coconut oil and fry the curry leaves and pandan until crackling, then add the onions, garlic, and ginger and cook until deeply softened and golden, 10 minutes.
3. Add the Jaffna curry powder, black pepper, turmeric, and toasted fenugreek and fry 1 minute until the oil turns rusty red.
4. Add the tamarind, thin coconut milk, and 1 cup water and simmer 10 minutes to build the gravy. Whisk the roasted rice flour with a little cold water and stir it in to thicken.
5. Slide in the Blue Crab pieces, cover, and cook 10–12 minutes until the shells turn bright orange and the meat is opaque and firm.
6. Stir in the thick coconut cream, simmer 3 minutes without boiling, and serve with red rice, a crab cracker, and a lot of napkins.