A Ruby Murray Tuesday

I often don't have the luxury of time when preparing mid week dinners. By the time I've finished work, bought a few groceries and wandered home it's almost time to eat, if I want dinner to be digested before bedtime. Curries are a great quick supper and any leftovers, eaten cold, make for satisfying lunches. Last night, having some crab meat in the freezer, I made a south Indian crab curry from a Jamie Oliver recipe. I've made this before and have it marked in my recipe book as a winner! The crab meat I had didn't have any brown meat in it and so this recipe has been adapted form Jamie Oliver's to suit this.

Ingredients:
2 tblsp sunflower oil
3 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 heaped teaspoons black mustard seeds
5 green cardamom pods, crushed and husks removed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 medium white onion, peeled and finely sliced
2–3 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 heaped teaspoons turmeric
15g ghee
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
juice of 2 lemons
500g picked white crabmeat
a good bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly • ground black pepper


Method:
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, onion and chilli. Fry on a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes until lightly golden, then add the turmeric and ghee. After a minute or so, pour in the coconut milk and a tinful of water. Let it simmer away for 5 minutes so all the flavours develop. Then add the lemon juice and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the sauce resembles double cream in consistency.


Just before you stir in the white crabmeat, check that all the shell has been picked out, then add half the coriander, simmer for 4 more minutes and taste. Season carefully with salt and pepper and a little more lemon juice if you think it needs it. Serve with some fluffy white rice, sprinkled with the rest of the coriander leaves.

I roasted cauliflower in some Indian spices to accompany the curry. I mixed 3 tablespoons of ghee with 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon garam masala, a good pinch of salt and a small pinch of cayenne pepper. I stirred this in with one head of cauliflower, cut into florets, and roasted it in a preheated 200°C oven for 35minutes.