Kakra Jhal (Bengali Spicy Crab Curry)

'Jhal' means hot in Bengali. In Bengal's delta region crabs are cooked whole in mustard oil with a rich onion-garlic masala and a little potato that soaks up the sauce.

Eat with plenty of plain rice and your hands.

• Serves 3
• Prep 25 min
• Cook 35 min
• gluten-free · dairy-free · Spicy
• Famous in West Bengal

Ingredients

• 1 kg whole crabs, cleaned and halved, claws cracked
• ½ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp salt
• 4 tbsp mustard oil
• 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 dried red chillies
• 2 potatoes, quartered
• 2 onions, blended to a paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste and 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3 green chillies, slit
• ½ tsp garam masala

Method

1. Rub the crabs with turmeric and salt. Heat the mustard oil until it smokes lightly, then lower the heat. Fry the crabs 3–4 minutes until red; take out. Fry the potatoes until golden; take out.
2. Add bay leaf, cumin seeds and dried chillies, then the onion paste and sugar. Fry until golden, 8 minutes.
3. Add garlic, ginger, chilli and cumin powder and fry 2 minutes, then the tomato; cook until oily.
4. Add crabs, potatoes, green chillies, salt and 300 ml hot water. Cover and simmer 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
5. Finish with garam masala.

Tip: Heating mustard oil until it smokes takes away its raw sharpness.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.