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Crab marari stew

Dagil John Mathews from Coconut Coast
Dagil John Mathews makes a hearty spiced stew with crackling curry leaves, chunks of crab and creamy coconut milk

Crab marari stew

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and toss in the curry leaves followed by the chillies, garlic, ginger and onions. Stir and fry for a minute or two over a moderate heat.

2. Add the cloves, mace, cardamoms, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns and turmeric to the pan. Swirl around for a few seconds - when you catch a whiff of the spices, add the parboiled and chunked potato to the pan with the hot water.

3. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the chopped crab along with two bruised lemon grass stems. Stir and simmer until the crab shell turns a lovely deep red colour and the potatoes are soft - this should take about 10-15 minutes.

4. Pour the coconut milk into the pan and gently reheat the stew without boiling. Serve straight away.

Cooks Notes:
Coconut milk is sold in cartons and cans from supermarkets.

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Serves: 4

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 30 min

Ingredients

Ingredients

2 tbsp coconut oil
20 curry leaves
4 dried red chillies
3 garlic clove, chopped
1 piece of fresh root ginger (4cm), shredded
3 red onions, sliced
4 Cloves
1 blade mace
4 cardamoms
2 Bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks (3cm)
2 Star anise
1/2 tsp peppercorns, crushed
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 medium potato, boiled until barely tender and cut into chunks
350ml hot water
500g whole crab, cleaned and chopped into large pieces
2 lemon grass stalks, bruised
200ml coconut milk