Crab peera pattichathu / Crab Thoran

Today I am sharing the recipe of Crab (Njandu) peera pattichathu / Crab  Thoran / Crab meat stir fry with coconut. I used canned crab meat for this recipe and this dish is very easy to prepare and goes well with rice. I know a few people who love crabs but mostly will avoid it from their daily menu just because they don't want to deal with its shells.That's true in my case also, I always think it would have been so easy to eat that delicious meat if those shells were not there..To be frank, mostly when I go out for a dinner, even though I love crabs I have never ordered crabs because all those empty shells makes it very messy to eat. So this recipe is for all those crab lovers, who would like to have crab without any mess.

Serves ~ 2 adults

Ingredients

Canned crab meat ~ 2 tins ( 170 gram each )

Urad dal ( Uzhunnu ) ~ 2 1/2 tbsp

Onions ~ 2 Nos ( Medium sized )

Green chillies ~ 5 Nos

Chopped ginger and garlic ~ 1 tbsp

Curry leaves ~ 1 stem

Red chilli powder ~ 2 tsp

Turmeric powder ~ 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut ~ 1/2 - 3/4 cup

Tamarind paste ~ 1/2 tsp ( You can even squeeze the juice out of a small sized tamarind which was soaked in 1/4 cup of water for at least 15 minutes. )

Salt to taste
Mustard seeds ( Kaduku ) ~ 1/4 tsp

Oil ~ 2 tbsp

Method

• First open the crab can and drain the water and then heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add the urad dal and fry till they become light brown in color. Then add chopped onions, chopped green chillies, chopped ginger and garlic & curry leaves and fry till the onions become soft. 

• Then lower the flame and add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder and fry till the powders turns dark in color. Next add crab meat along with tamarind paste, salt and grated coconut and cook covered for about 15-20 minutes. Then cook uncovered till almost all the water in it evaporates.

Enjoy with rice.

Cheers!!