Kakrar Jhal | Bengali Crab Curry

Kakrar Jhal, a delectable Bengali-style crab curry cooked with selected spices and for sure is a family favorite!

Bengali-style Kakrar Jhal

A typical, traditional Bengali style Kakrar Jhal or Bengali Crab Curry is something I was planning to make for a long! Yes, I didn’t attempt to make Kakrar Jhal so far in my kitchen until last week though I love this a lot. My Mom has a fear that eating Crab in bulk may cause “Pet Kharap” (stomach problem)! She tries every possible thing to avoid making it. In my parent’s place Crab is almost a no-no 😛 .  Given this, I always had Crab Curry at my friend's places. When we were in Gurgaon we used to try Bengali Restaurants for crab and somehow I didn’t make it at my place.

A good quality crab is a must for Bengali Crab Curry

I found a good lot of Crabs at the nearby market a few days back and finally called my best friend S to help me with crab. I didn’t even know how to clean it. She suggested I should ask the vendor to clean the Crab and shared a homely recipe for Kakrar Jhal or Bengali Crab Curry. I then consulted my little collection of cookbooks and the web and found almost similar recipes there.  I then purchased Crab last week from a known fish vendor at Patuli Market and he helped me with the cleaning process.

What I found, he first opened the shell and discarded that along with the small legs.  Finally, the inner part of the Crab and its big legs were cleaned and he told me to cook those after a thorough washing at home. He shared the crab egg in a separate packet and suggested adding that to the curry for extra flavor.  Following S’s process, I cleaned Crab pieces with warm salted water two times and then sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder over the pieces of crab followed by boiling crabs in hot water for five minutes. Water was discarded after that and Crab pieces were used for further cooking.

Potato chunks are a must while making the bong-style Kakrar Jhal. Potato is my favorite and it gives a body to many dishes especially when it comes to Bengali Cuisine. Bongs prefer their runny Murgir Jhol (chicken curry) or Kochi Pathar Jhol (mutton curry) along with big chunks of potatoes. However, while making Crab Curry I added potato wedges instead of big chunks. Rest is the use of some basic spices to make the curry which ended with a finger-licking Crab Curry or Kakrar Jhal.

Kakrar Jhal; Written Recipe

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Kakrar Jhal | Bengali Crab Curry

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• Author: Debjani Chatterjee Alam
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: 4-5 People 1x

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Description

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!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 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 Tsp. Ginger Paste
• 1.5 Tsp. Garlic Paste
• 1 Tsp. Salt or to taste
• ½ Tsp Turmeric Powder
• ½ Tsp Bengali Garam Masala Powder
• 2 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
• 1 Tsp. Ghee

Tempering

• 1 Whole dried Red Chili
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1- inch Whole Cinnamon
• ½ Tsp. Cumin Seed
• 3 Whole Green Cardamom

To make the Spice paste

• 1 Tsp. Cumin Powder
• 1 Tsp. Coriander Powder
• ½ Tsp Bengali Garam Masala Powder
• ½ Tsp. Turmeric Powder
• 1 Tsp. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder (can be added more)
• 1 Tsp. Salt (or as per taste)
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Mustard Oil

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Instructions

Cleaning and Washing Crabs

1. The outer shell and small legs of each crab need to be broken and discarded at first.
2. Break big legs from the body of the Crabs and wash everything under running normal water.
3. Add some salt to a bowl of warm water and wash Crab pieces with this Water.
4. Now take a bowl full of water and bring it to a boil.
5. 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.
6. Discard the water and use these cleaned Crab for cooking further.
7. 

To make the spice paste:

1. 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.
2. 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:

1. Take cleaned Crab pieces and sprinkle and mix some salt and turmeric powder.
2. Cut Potatoes into wedges and make paste or tomatoes and Onion separately.
3. Take Oil in a deep bottom pan and heat the oil over medium flame.
4. Shallow fry potato wedges in medium flame till they turn golden in color and strain from oil and keep aside.
5. Shallow-fry Crab pieces in the remaining oil and keeps those aside too.
6. Temper the oil with the whole spices (Whole dried Red Chili, Bay leaf, Whole Cinnamon, Cumin Seed, and Whole Green Cardamom).
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Now add 3 Cups of water and after mixing bring it to a boil.
11. Add fried potato wedges and fried Crabs and cook after covering the pan with a lid.
12. Cook until the potatoes are cooked properly and the gravy thickens a bit.
13. Adjust the water level according to taste; I prefer a bit of runny curry.
14. Add Ghee and Garam Masala Powder and give the curry a final mix and switch the flame off.
15. Serve Kakrar Jhal or Bengali Crab Curry with hot steamed rice.

• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Crab
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: Bengali

Nutrition

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

Keywords: kakrar jhal recipe, bengali crab curry recipe, bengali crab recipe, crab recipe, debjanir rannaghar

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

I would love to see a picture if you are making it following my recipe. You can share here at dolonchttrj@gmail.com. You can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and share it through Instagram as well. and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.

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