If you love Crab, you have gone to give Goan crab xec xec a try. Goan Crab Xec Xec (pronounced Shek Shek) is a fantastically decadent dish that is loved by everyone. Roasted spices, a thick mouth-watering curry and slight sweet crab meat mix to make this a dish to remember.
If you love crabs then you are sure to like this all-time Goan crab preparation. What makes this dish so tasty is the roasted spices which are used to make the thick and mouth-watering gravy. In today’s post, we will share with you our regular Recipe.
Ingredients:
- 8 – 10 crabs (1 kilogram or so)
- 1 medium onion (sliced fine)
- 2 green chillies (chopped fine)
- 1-inch tamarind ball (soak in ½ cup hot water to extract pulp)
- Coconut oil for frying/sauteing
- Salt to taste
- Pinch or two of sugar
- Masala Ingredients (to roast and grind):
- 1 ½ cup fresh grated coconut
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves (chopped or sliced)
- 1-inch ginger (chopped or sliced)
- 12 Kashmiri chillies
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon peppercorn
- 6 cloves
Directions:
- Clean, wash and cut the crab. I like to remove the small tips on the crab legs but you can leave them if you choose to. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt on the crabs, toss them and keep them aside.
- Prep. The rest of your ingredients.
- Heat a pan on medium heat and add the grated coconut to it.
- Let it roast slowly and as it starts to brown, add the turmeric to it.
- Let it roast for a few more minutes, but do not let it burn. Remove to a bowl and keep aside to cool.
- Add the chopped onion to the same pan and let it roast.
- Add the chopped garlic and ginger to the onion as it starts to change colour. Once again, let it roast for a few minutes but do not let it burn. Remove and keep aside to cool.
- Roast the chilies in the same manner.
- Lastly roast the whole spices (coriander, cumin, peppercorn and cloves)
- Grind the masala ingredients along with the ½ cup of tamarind pulp and any water that may be required. The masala should be thick, and slightly coarse. Rinse out the grinder with ½ cup of water and retain this “masala water”.
- Finely slice the second onion.
- Heat a large pan or wok and add a couple tablespoons of coconut oil to it.
- Add the sliced onion to the pan and saute them till they brown.
- Add the crabs and the masala water to the pan and give it a quick mix up.
- Cover the pan and cook the crabs on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, give the crabs a mix, and then add in the ground masala along with chopped green chilies. Mix well. Note: this part gets a bit messy in the pan. That is normal! Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes or so.
- You should end up with a thick curry that coats the crab in pure deliciousness. Turn off the heat at this time.
- Serve hot with steamed rice or bread.
Enjoy!
