Kakrar Jhaal (Bengali Crab Curry)

To those who are not very familiar with Indian cuisine, let me tell you that in India, many prefer to eat vegetables, rather than fish (or even meat or egg), on a regular basis. A huge percentage of Indians are vegetarians or shuddha shakahari. But, I am from West Bengal (Kolkata): the part of India where fish is a celebrity and forms an integral part of the food culture. There is a popular saying in India, “Agar macchi pakana ho, toh bangali se seekho!”, which means, “If you want to cook Indian-style fish, learn it from a Bengali!” There are many fish recipes in Kolkata households, which have been passed down from generation to generation and till today, these recipes are extremely popular. Kakrar jhaal is such a Bengali recipe. I am proud to share with you such heirloom Bengali recipe, just fit for special weekend lunches, parties and special occasions!

The crabs must be very fresh. The shells must be cracked (as shown) and the crabs are broken in this manner, with the body and legs separated, for any Bengali-style crab curry.

Crabs are so fresh and have such variety in Hong Kong that you will not resist yourself from such delicious seafood. I mostly prefer crabs cooked in Indian style (Bengali, to be precise), cooked with a careful balance of spices. This Indian crab curry is from West Bengal, where fish is a part of the everyday meal.

Kakrar jhaal (Bengali crab curry)

Ingredients:

Fresh crabs: 2

Bay leaves: 2

Whole cinnamon: 1 (one-inch stick)

Whole cloves: 4

Whole peppercorns: 6

Whole green cardamoms: 3

Whole cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Onions (finely julienned): ½

Onion paste: 2 tbsp

Garlic paste: 1 tsp

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

Tomatoes (finely chopped): 1 cup

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Whole chillies (slit): 4

Salt

Oil

Water

Method:

Wash the crabs thoroughly under running water. Plunge them into boiling salt-water. Boil for 5 min. Remove the crabs and reserve the soup.

In a wok, add oil and let it reach the smoking point. Now add the whole spices. Wait till the cumin seeds turn brown.

Spices used for kakrar jhaal

Add the whole onions and garlic and sauté, till the onions become brown and crisp. Add the onion paste now and continue to sauté for 5 min. Add the ginger paste, turmeric powder and salt. Add the chillies.  After 2 min, add tomatoes. Stir and cover, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes become mushy.

Add the crabs and sauté for 7 more min, until the mixture coats the crabs well.

Add some crab soup (about 1 cup) and check the seasoning. Bring this to a boil and then simmer for 7 min. Serve with steamed rice.

Also try this: Indian Crab Curry

Bengali Omlette Curry

[This article was originally published in Zomppa, the International food magazine with a social cause.]

There are a number of Indian recipes which never find their way to the restaurant menu. Omlette curry is one of them. This is a very easy dish and it can be cooked in a jiffy. When the omlette boils in the gravy, it swells up a little, absorbs the flavours of the gravy and becomes soft and juicy. This curry is made in different ways in different parts of India. I am sharing this recipe from West Bengal (Kolkata), where it is called dimer jhol, and is cooked in a simple way. The gravy is always less in this dish, for a concentrated and culminated taste arising from carefully chosen spices mixed with omlette’s own flavour and aroma.

There is one interesting thing about omlette curry. If you have to feed a large number of people and have just half the number of eggs you need to make boiled egg curry, this humble omlette curry would be the answer. For example, if you have just three eggs and you want to make egg curry for six people, mix some besan (gram flour) with the beaten eggs and then make the omlettes. In this way, the omlettes would be denser and bigger and one omlette would easily suffice two.

Bengali omlette curry

[Mustard oil is pungent and Bengalis love to cook with this oil. Once the oil is heated and begins to smoke, the raw smell goes away, leaving an appetizing aroma behind. However, you can substitute with canola or sunflower oil if mustard oil is not available. ]

Ingredients:

Eggs: 6
Onion paste: 2 tbsp
Green chilli paste: 1 tsp (divided)
Milk: 2 tbsp
Salt: ½ tsp for the omlette and 1 tsp for the gravy
Finely chopped onion: ½ cup
Finely chopped garlic: 1 tbsp
Ginger paste: 1 tsp
Bay leaf: 1
Cinnammon sticks (one-inch each): 2
Cloves: 6
Green cardamoms: 4
Peppercorns: 10–12
Dried red chillies: 2
Coriander powder: 1.5 tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Yogurt: 2 tbsp
Spring onion greens’ paste: 1.5 tbsp
Mustard oil (or white oil)
Water

 Method:

 

Break the eggs together in a bowl. Add ½ tsp salt and beat well. Add the milk, onion paste and half the green chilli paste and beat once more. Divide into six (or eight) equal parts and shallow-fry each part to make six (or eight) vertically folded omlettes. Keep aside.

Heat oil to the smoking point. Add the bay leaf and dried red chillies. When the chillies darken a bit, add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamoms and peppercorns. When these start sputtering, add the finely chopped garlic and sauté for 1 min. Add the chopped onions and sauté till the onions are browned and soft.

Add the ginger and sauté for 3 min. Now make a paste by mixing the salt, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders with a little water (roughly 3 tbsp). Add this paste to the pan and keep the flame at medium. Sauté constantly, till the mixture starts leaving oil. Sprinkle some more water and sauté till oil starts leaving from the mixture one more time.

Mix the yogurt, spring onion greens’ paste and the rest of the green chilli paste together in a bowl with around 2 tbsp water. Add this yogurt mixture to the pan now. Sauté for 5 min and then add 3 cups of warm water.

When the gravy starts boiling, slowly insert the omlettes, one at a time.

Cover and simmer for 5 min. Serve with rice or chapattis.