Crab Curry (Kakra Kalia)

Name: Crab Curry
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Westbengal)
Ingredients: Live mud crabs: 1kg (2 medium crabs), cleaned and halved; Onion: 200g, ground; Tomato: 150g, pureed; Ginger paste: 1½ tsp; Garlic paste: 1 tsp; Turmeric: 1 tsp; Red chilli powder: 1½ tsp; Coriander powder: 1 tsp; Cumin powder: 1 tsp; Garam masala: 1 tsp; Whole garam masala: cardamom 3, clove 3, cinnamon 1-inch; Mustard oil: 5 tbsp; Salt: 1½ tsp; Sugar: ½ tsp; Hot water: 200ml; Ask fishmonger to clean and cut crabs — doing it at home is time-consuming; Male crabs have more flesh; female crabs with roe are prized by Bengalis; Use tongs to turn crab pieces — they are heavy and hard to manage; The gravy should coat the shell — it is eaten by sucking the shell

🍗 Non-veg🌾 Gluten-free📊 Medium

Mud crabs cooked in a rich, aromatic tomato-onion-spice kalia gravy — a coastal Bengali celebration dinner.

⏱️20 minPrep

🔥35 minCook

🕒55 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

👩‍🍳 How to make Crab Curry

Season crab with turmeric and salt; fry in smoking oil until shells turn bright orange-red.
Remove.
Add whole garam masala to oil.
Fry onion paste to golden.
Add ginger-garlic; cook 3 min.
Add tomato, spice powders, salt; bhuna until oil separates.
Return crab; add hot water and sugar.
Cover; cook 15 min until crab meat pulls away from shell and gravy is thick.
Stir gently to avoid breaking claws.
Sprinkle garam masala; serve with steamed rice.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 280 kcal | 24g | 12g | 15g | 2g | Crab eating is a communal, hands-on dinner experience in coastal Bengali communities — Digha and Bakkhali beach towns are famous for crab dinners where visitors break claws with rocks at outdoor stalls. Kakra Kalia at home is a seasonal celebration dish, made when the fishermen return with large mud crabs from the Sundarbans. ---

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