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Crabs Lovers ?

Are you a Crab Lover?

“For those who venture beyond the normal, for those who delight in the
gastronomy, for those who like to venture where no man has ever been before,
enter this page at your own peril, for life will not be the same again”.

Words, which paraphrased the club, I once set up in Delhi - The Crab Lovers
Club - Defunct today as experience showed (14 members in a short period of
6 weeks) the venue always ended up being at my place. So the founder
decided to unfound and the club was put to rest. Now by special invitation
only.

But the recipe remains and for those who wish to partake, here goes

- The famous "Chilli" Crab.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 kilogram fresh cleaned crab in the shell, claws separate, body in two
parts.
500 grams onion, finely chopped.
500 grams tomato, whole.
4 table spoons red chilli powder.
1 tablespoon turmeric (haldi) powder.
Juice of one lemon
Handful of dhania leaves, finely chopped
2 Bay leaves, whole
4 medium size cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 small piece (size of your thumb) ginger, finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 cups washed Basmati Rice
1 cup cooking oil
2 cups milk

Process

1. Take a deep pot or karhai
2. Put in the oil and let it come to heat
3. Put in the bay leaves, garlic and ginger and continuously stir for a
minute till light brown
4. Stir in the onions, let it brown and give out its water.
5. Blanch the tomatoes (put in a separate pan of boiling water for a
few minutes). Remove & throw away the peel and roughly mash up the rest
and add to the frying onions.
6. Put in the turmeric powder and a cup of water and let it cook
occasionally stirring till it becomes a thick paste.
7. Now add the crabs and gently stir as you see the colour of the
shells turning red.
8. Add the red chilli powder (more if you like to sweat - highly
recommended, less if you want to live long - but then what are you doing
here?)
9. Add the lemon juice and stir the lot for a few minutes.
10. Add water till the crabs are two thirds covered - Stir and put it on
slow fire to cook for 10 minutes. Cover.
11. After 10 minutes, remove the cover and put the heat on high,
stirring occasionally till the water level reduces to about one fourth the
level of the crabs. Add salt to taste and stir gently, shut the fire.
12. Boil the rice separately (in half water, half milk) and keep ready.
13. Pick up and place the crabs in a Borosil / See through dish, Then
pour its gravy on top and garnish with the dhania leaves.
14. Sit down, roll up your sleeves and have fun. Bowl of green salad
recommended for those who like the chilli chilli version. Take the phone
off the hook.

Availability

Crabs are available in Delhi usually at the fish shops at INA market and
sometimes at Chittaranjan Park. Rs. 100 – 150 a kilogram depending on the
clothes you are wearing.
At Mumbai, usually at Crawford Market and occasionally early morning at the
Docks off Colaba.

Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, the author would like to know where.

A TRYST WITH HONG KONG

The melting pot of the Orient. That’s what they call Hong Kong.

One of the world’s oldest Trading Posts, Hong Kong has been world renown as the earlier British controlled and recently having being returned to China. Mysterious, oriental and charming. The flight from Delhi was comfortable and in barely 51/2 hours of flying time, we were already landing. Looking out the window during the descent gives you a sudden fright. Where is the Pilot going? Why aren’t people panicking? We are diving into the sea! Help!

And then we land, the landing strip reaches out into the bay giving you the feeling of landing in water. What a start.

Visas are available at the airport and very soon one is in a taxi cruising towards the city.

The airport is about an hours drive from the city and can be reached by taxi, train or shuttle bus, each a cheaper option to the other.

As one exits from the airport, the air is of a different order, fresh and clear. The view unfolds water pockets and hills, a truly different landscape from India with a smattering of boats on the various bays.

As we near the city, the skyline changes and soon we are driving among skyscrapers. Different shapes and different sizes. The roads begin the meander and enter into a myriad of tunnels, flyovers and undulating stretches. Traffic sense is very strict and movement brisk. We reached Wanchai, a tourist destination and locality known for its streets full of shops and the well known shopping complexes of Times Square, Sogo or the Windsor Market - Streets are narrow, lined with small shops selling trinkets, eatables, electronics and jewels. One wrong turn and we were in the street known for its fresh meats, poultry, vegetables and seafood. Wish I had brought my kitchen along. The hotel was 30 stories high and from the 28^th floor, the world surely looked far away. Space being at a premium, rooms are designed to optimize.

After a hard days work at the office, it was back to the streets. The lights are amazing and truly marvelous. Wonder what the electricity bill would be like. Streets are lit in multi-colour, huge Chinese characters shine out to you and every street looks like a carnival is on. People abound and sidewalks are over crowded till the wee hours of the night. Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Thai’s, Malays etc., the oriental races dominate. Places to visit in Hong Kong include Kowloon Island for its shopping, Stanley Market the famous night street market and the Peak, from which the view covers the whole island.

Hong Kong is enjoyable for an overall experience where one needs to experience its sights, the night markets (for some bargaining for clothes and bric a brac), the Lan Kwai Fong area for cuisines from the world over and for the first time visitor, a day trip across the bay to Xinseng the China main land.

Weather is normally moderate with chances of light showers, which go as soon as they come but leave behind high humidity.

From India, flights (Air India and Cathay Pacific) fly direct from both Mumbai and Delhi with best time to visit being the winter months and spring.

The Hong Kong Dollar is about one seventh of the US and about INR 7.0 each. Most people speak English and Mandarin.