Sri Lanka Kakuluwo
Submitted by LP31700
Kakuluwo is a Sri Lankan crab curry simmered in two rounds of coconut milk with fenugreek, grated coconut, and curry leaves. Messy to eat, absolutely worth every bite.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
10 minCOOK
15 minREADY
30 minKakuluwo is the kind of dish where you roll up your sleeves, crack shells with your hands, and lick every finger clean without a shred of shame.
Hard-shell crabs get a quick blanch, then simmer in thin coconut milk loaded with shallots, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, and a cinnamon stick. The spices seep into every crack and crevice of the shell.
The finishing move is a thick coconut milk mixture enriched with grated coconut, ground rice, and lime juice that thickens into a clingy, luxurious gravy.
This is hands-down one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated seafood dishes, and one taste will tell you why.
Pro Tips
- Crack the shells lightly before cooking so the spiced gravy can penetrate into the crab meat
- Fresh crabs make all the difference here; frozen will work but the texture and sweetness of fresh is unmatched
- The ground rice acts as a natural thickener for the gravy, so stir it in well to avoid lumps
- Have plenty of napkins and a bowl for discarded shells at the table
- Pair with kaha buth (yellow rice) or crusty bread to mop up every last drop of gravy
Ingredients
Directions
Place crabs in boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove and clean.
Break the crab into desired portions and crush the shell a bit so flesh can be more easily removed.
Slice the shallots and chiles, grind garlic and ginger and grate the coconut.
Place the crab in a pan and add the shallots, chiles, garlic, ginger, turmeric, fenugreek, chile powder, paprika powder, cinnamon stick, curry powder, curry leaves, coriander leaves and thin coconut milk and cook until crabs are done.
Mix the thick coconut milk with the lime juice, salt, grated coconut and the ground rice and add to the pan.
Stir and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.
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