Kakrar jhal

Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Kakrar Jhal is a Bengali crab curry with potato wedges and an onion-and-tomato gravy. She credits a friend’s family recipe as her starting point, and her selected version uses a separately mixed spice paste before finishing with ghee and Bengali garam masala.

The outer crab shells and small legs are discarded, and the large legs are separated. The pieces are rinsed under running water, washed in warm salted water, then seasoned with salt and turmeric and briefly boiled; that boiling water is discarded.

Ground cumin, ground coriander, Bengali garam masala, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, salt, sugar and mustard oil are mixed into a paste, with a little water if needed. Potatoes are cut into wedges, onion and tomato made into separate pastes, and the cleaned crab is seasoned again with salt and turmeric.

Potatoes fry until golden and are lifted out, followed by the crab in the same oil. Dried red chilli, bay leaf, cinnamon, cumin seeds and green cardamom temper the remaining oil; onion paste browns, then tomato, ginger and garlic pastes cook until oil separates.

The prepared spice paste and a little water cook into the gravy before the main water is added. Fried potatoes and crab return and cook under a lid until the potatoes are done, with water adjusted for the author’s slightly runny finish; ghee and garam masala are mixed in before serving with steamed rice.