Crab Ghee Roast

As I seem to be on a draft-clear-off spree, here's yet another one. I had seen Paneer Ghee Roast on Divya's blog which led me to the recipe source. The author Kudpi Raj and his wife have recreated the flavours of Chicken Ghee Roast of Hotel Anupama. The pics of Prawn Ghee Roast had me drooling and wanting to dive into the plate. The comment section also was flooded with people sharing their success stories with this recipe. I had the urge to make it ASAP and hence substituted prawns with crabs which I had on hand. The outcome was liked by all of us.

Ingredients:

Crabs  - 1 Kg, cleaned

Refined vegetable oil - 30 ml (I reduced both oil and ghee quantity, started off by a little and added a bit more as I went by)

Pure Desi Ghee - 30 ml

Chopped Coriander leaves - A handful
Lemon wedges - To garnish

For marinating:

Juice of 1 lemon
Curd - ½ cup
White Pepper powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

For masala - grind together:

Red long chillies - 30 roasted (I had only 1 variety and used the same)
Red short chillies - 8 roasted
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp roasted
Cumin Seeds - ½ sp roasted
Fenugreek Seeds - ½ tsp roasted
Garlic flakes - 12-16
Tamarind - Cherry size ball soaked in 2 tbsp water

Method:

1. Marinate crabs with ingredients called for in the marinade section.Keep it marinated for 8-24 hrs in the refrigerator.
2. Heat oil in a shallow pan. Roast the marinated crabs till they cook. Drain and keep aside.
4. In the same oil, roast the ground masala till oil leaves the sides and raw smell disappears. Add salt to taste, the marinade and the cooked crabs. Mix well and keep for 2-3 mins on slow fire. Add ghee, mix and cover. When the masala gets thick, transfer to serving dish, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with lemon wedges.