Kakrar Jhal | Bengali Crab Curry

Kakrar Jhal, a flavorful Bengali crab curry made with fresh crab and chunks of potato, is seasoned with a special blend of spices. It's definitely a favorite in our family!

Debjani's Note - Bengali-style Kakrar Jhal

I had been wanting to make a traditional Bengali-style Kakrar Jhal, or crab curry, for ages! Though I adore it, I just got around to making it in my own kitchen last week. My Mom always worries that eating too much crab will cause stomach problems, so she avoids making it whenever possible. Crab is practically off the menu at my parents' house! Because of this, I usually enjoyed crab curry at my friends' homes. Even when we lived in Gurgaon, we would search out Bengali restaurants for crab, and somehow I never made it myself.

I first wrote this crab curry recipe in 2016, and I've probably made it hundreds of times since then. I've also updated the post over time as I've tweaked the recipe.

A good quality crab is a must for Bengali Crab Curry

To make delicious Bengali Crab Curry, you need good-quality crab. I recently found some great crabs at the market and immediately called my friend S for help - I didn't even know how to clean them! She suggested asking the vendor to clean the crab and shared her family recipe for Kakrar Jhal, or Bengali Crab Curry. I checked my cookbooks and online, and found similar recipes. Last week, I bought the crabs from a fish vendor I trust at Patuli Market, and he cleaned them for me.

First, he cracked open the crab, tossing away the shell and small legs. Then, he carefully cleaned the main part of the crab and its large legs, instructing me to wash them thoroughly at home before cooking. He also gave me the crab eggs in a separate bag, suggesting I add them to the curry for a richer taste. Following his instructions, I cleaned the crab pieces twice with warm, salted water. After that, I sprinkled them with salt and turmeric powder and boiled them in hot water for five minutes. Finally, I drained the water and used the crab pieces for cooking.

When I make Kakrar Jhal, a flavorful crab curry cooked in the "bong" style, I always add chunks of potato. I love how potatoes add substance to many dishes, especially in Bengali cooking. Bengalis often enjoy their thin chicken or mutton curries with large pieces of potato, such as Murgir Jhol (chicken curry) or Kochi Pathar Jhol (mutton curry). For this crab curry, though, I used potato wedges instead of chunks. With a few simple spices, the curry turned out incredibly delicious - a truly finger-licking Kakrar Jhal!

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Kakrar Jhal | Bengali Crab Curry

Kakrar Jhal or Bengali Crab Curry is a gravy-based curry prepared with Crab and potato chunks and is a traditional Bengali preparation of Crab!

Course Crab

Cuisine Bengali

Keyword bengali crab curry recipe, bengali crab recipe, crab recipe, Debjanir Rannaghar, kakrar jhal recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -5 People

Calories 264kcal

Author Debjani Chatterjee Alam

Cost Rs 500

Ingredients

• 5 Crab / Kakra separated and cleaned; refer to the video shared and the note for cleaning process
• 3 Potato medium size
• 2 Onion
• 2 Tomato
• 1 teaspoon Ginger Paste
• 1.5 teaspoon Garlic Paste
• 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• ½ teaspoon Bengali Garam Masala Powder
• 2 tablespoon Mustard Oil
• 1 teaspoon Ghee

Tempering

• 1 Whole dried Red Chili
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• ½ teaspoon Cumin Seed
• 3 Whole Green Cardamom

To make the Spice paste

• 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
• ½ teaspoon Bengali Garam Masala Powder
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder can be added more
• 1 teaspoon Salt or as per taste
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Mustard Oil

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Instructions

Cleaning and Washing Crabs

• 
• The outer shell and small legs of each crab need to be broken and discarded at first.
• Break big legs from the body of the Crabs and wash everything under running normal water.
• Add some salt to a bowl of warm water and wash Crab pieces with this Water.
• Now take a bowl full of water and bring it to a boil.
• Sprinkle some salt and turmeric Powder over the crab pieces and add those to the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes on high flame.
• Discard the water and use these cleaned Crab for cooking further.
• 

To make the spice paste:

• Take all the spices mentioned under the ingredient list of spice mix which are Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Bengali Garam Masala Powder, Turmeric Powder, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Salt, Sugar, and Mustard Oil in a bowl and mix using a spoon.
• Add little water if found the paste is too dry and keep the spice paste aside for further cooking.

To make Kakrar Jhal or Bengali Crab Curry:

• Take cleaned Crab pieces and sprinkle and mix some salt and turmeric powder.
• Cut Potatoes into wedges and make paste or tomatoes and Onion separately.
• Take Oil in a deep bottom pan and heat the oil over medium flame.
• Shallow fry potato wedges in medium flame till they turn golden in color and strain from oil and keep aside.
• Shallow-fry Crab pieces in the remaining oil and keeps those aside too.
• Temper the oil with the whole spices (Whole dried Red Chili, Bay leaf, Whole Cinnamon, Cumin Seed, and Whole Green Cardamom).
• When the spices start spurting add onion paste to it and start cooking on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes until the onion changes color to light brown.
• Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes and then add ginger and garlic paste to it and cook till the spices are mixed properly and the oil separates from the edges.
• Add previously prepared spice paste to the pan and mix with a spatula and add 1 Tbsp. of water to it and then cook for 2-3 minutes or till the thick gravy emits an aroma and releases oil from the edges.
• Now add 3 Cups of water and after mixing bring it to a boil.
• Add fried potato wedges and fried Crabs and cook after covering the pan with a lid.
• Cook until the potatoes are cooked properly and the gravy thickens a bit.
• Adjust the water level according to taste; I prefer a bit of runny curry.
• Add Ghee and Garam Masala Powder and give the curry a final mix and switch the flame off.
• Serve Kakrar Jhal or Bengali Crab Curry with hot steamed rice.

Nutrition

Serving: 150g | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.6g | Protein: 14.6g | Fat: 11.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 1434mg | Fiber: 4.6g | Sugar: 6.3g

Have you tried the Bengali Kakrar Jhal recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!

Please inform me of your experience, and feel free to send a photo to [email protected]. Additionally, you can find me on various social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Google News, X, and Thread. Don't forget to use the hashtag #debjanirrannaghar when sharing your attempts at my recipes or if you have any questions or recipe requests.

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About Debjani Chatterjee Alam

I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.

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