Curry crab and dumplings is one of the dishes most closely associated with Tobago, sold at beach-side food stalls and cooked at home for special occasions. It is gloriously messy: you crack the crab with your hands and drag the dumplings through the sauce.
The dumplings are long and flat, made from a simple flour dough and boiled until firm and slightly chewy. The crab is cleaned, seasoned and cooked in burnt curry with coconut milk.
Buying crab that has already been cleaned saves time and is the easiest route for most home cooks.
The recipe
Curry Crab and Dumplings
Prep
40 min
Cook
45 min
Marinating
30 min
Total
1 hr 55 min
Serves
4
Times and quantities are our best estimates. This recipe is still being kitchen-tested, so trust your eyes and taste as you go.
Servings
Ingredient amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pot size may need adjusting too.
Ingredients
Tick items off as you gather them.
For the crab
For the dumplings
Method
Prepare the crab
Rinse the crab in water with the juice of the lime, then drain. Mix with the green seasoning and salt and leave for 30 minutes.
Make the dumplings
Mix the flour and salt, then add the water gradually to make a firm, smooth dough. Knead for 2 minutes, cover and rest while you start the curry.
Cook the curry
Heat the oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
Mix the curry powder and cumin with 3 tbsp water to a paste, add to the pot and stir for 2 minutes until it darkens and the oil separates.
Add the crab and stir to coat. Cook for 5 minutes, turning the pieces.
Pour in the coconut milk and water, add the thyme and whole pepper, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crab is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Remove the pepper and stir in the chadon beni.
Boil the dumplings
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pinch off pieces of dough, roll each into a log and flatten into a long tongue shape about 4 inches (10 cm) long.
Drop them into the boiling water and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until they float and are firm all the way through. Drain.
Serve the crab and sauce over the dumplings.
Serve it with
Lots of napkins and a bowl for the shells
A simple green salad on the side
Substitutions
Crab: large prawns in their shells make a quicker version; simmer for 5 to 8 minutes only.
Coconut milk: some cooks use only water for a sharper curry.
Storing and reheating
Seafood is best eaten the day it is cooked. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and eat within 1 day.
Dumplings can be reheated in the sauce.
Cook's notes
Buy crab from a fishmonger you trust and cook it the day you buy it.
Tobago cooks often make the dumplings quite large; shape them to suit you.
Two soft, turmeric-gold fried breads (bara) folded around curried chickpeas (channa), finished with tamarind sauce and pepper. A much-loved Trinidad street breakfast.
