• Clean crabs, add turmeric powder and set aside for 10 minutes.
  1 kg medium sized crabs, ½ teaspoon turmeric

Dry roasting spices

• Heat a frying pan and when it is hot, add all the dry spices and red chillies. Keep stirring so that the spices do not burn. After a minute or two, the seeds crackle and pop and will be well roasted.
  15 kashmiri chillies, 5 spicy red chillies, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ½ teaspoon black pepper corns
• Keep it aside.

Frying aromatics

• Take 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan or kadai, add onions, garlic & fry for 1 minute.
  2 teaspoons coconut oil, ¾ cup onions thin sliced, 7 flakes garlic
• Add coconut & fry until it turns light golden.
  1 cup grated coconut

Making the curry

• Add the dry roasted spices, fried aromatics, tamarind & ¾ cup water to a blender and grind to a very smooth paste.
  ½ tablespoon tamarind
• Add the ground masala paste to a kadai or pan. Add a cup of water to the mixer to wash out all the masalas & add to the kadai.
• Add salt & dilute the gravy with another ¼ cup water. See Note 2.
  1 ½ teaspoon salt
• Cook the curry on medium heat & when it boils, add crab & cook for 5 minutes on medium.
• Turn off the heat.

Tempering

• Add ghee & oil to a small pan or tadka pan.
  1 tablespoon ghee, 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• Add garlic & fry till light golden.
  8 flakes garlic
• Add curry leaves, add the tempering to the curry & serve.
  1 sprig curry leaf