Sri Lanka – Crab Curry

 

What dish defines Sri Lankan cuisine for you?

 

For some, it’s spicy and fragrant curries. For others, the incredible seafood that surrounds the island. And for a lot of people who have had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful country, it’s the famous crab curry.

 

Sebastina and Nireshan, proud owners of Nina Restaurant in Trincomalee, a beautiful seaside town on the East coast, have carried their grandmothers’ crab curry recipe through generations, and still make it for each customer from scratch, over hot coals in their kitchen. This recipe will be passed onto their daughter Nina, who is only six, but already observes every step with a watchful eye.

 

This dish stood out to me immediately, not only because of the genuine and humble nature of the family making it, but because it was undoubtedly the best and most authentic dish I ate in Sri Lanka throughout my time there. The spices are warm and fragrant, yet somehow fresh, and the crab meat and coconut milk create a sweetness to perfectly balance the heat of the chillies.

You may wonder if this dish is too spicy for you, or feel overwhelmed at the thought of cooking crabs, and while I desperately assure you it is worth it – I also have Nireshan’s blessing to advise that this recipe can be tweaked to be made less spicy, or indeed made with prawns and other seafood if preferred.

 

A reminder that your purchase supports Sebastina, Nireshan and Nina in the continued running of the wonderful Nina restaurant, and the more you are able to donate towards this recipe, the more they will receive to ensure traditional recipes like this are kept alive for future generations.