Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Crab Scotch Egg with Moilee Sauce
Crab Scotch Egg with Moilee Sauce ()

Crab Scotch Egg with Moilee Sauce

Non-vegetarian

A soft-set egg enclosed in a seasoned crab coating, crumbed and deep-fried, served with a warm coconut moilee sauce and quickly cooked samphire. The sauce is creamy, gently spicy and tangy, while the crab shell is crisp and savoury.

Whole spices for the oil

3.3 gAdded to the hot coconut oil at the start of the moilee sauce (step 1)
01
3.3 g1 teaspoon
spice
Keep whole: put them into the hot oil together and cook until they pop.

Ground spices for the sauce

9 gStirred into the onions with the chilli and ginger in the moilee sauce (step 3)
01
9 g1 tablespoon
spice
Keep ground: add with the chilli and ginger and stir to coat the onions.

Everything else

01
300 g6 eggs
egg
04
Fresh ginger · Adrakpeeled and finely chopped
6 g1 tablespoon
aromatic
05
Garlic · Lehsunfinely chopped
9 g1 tablespoon
aromatic
06
10 g1 tablespoon
vegetable
07
~30 ghandful
herb
08
~30 ghandful
herb
10
500 g
grain
11
Vegetable oil · Telfor deep-frying
913 g1 l
oil/fat
12
Samphirequickly sautéed in a little oil or butter, to serve
to taste
vegetable
13
14 g1 tablespoon
oil/fat
14
~30 ghandful
herb
15
Onion · Pyazlarge, chopped
150 g1 onion
vegetable
16
12 g2 chillies
vegetable
17
Fresh ginger · Adrakthumb-size, peeled and grated
piece
aromatic
19
to taste
souring agent
20
~30 ghandful
herb
21
to taste
sweetener
22
to taste
salt

Method

  1. For the moilee sauce, heat 13.5 g coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the whole spices for the oil and cook until the seeds pop.
  2. Add 30 g curry leaves, lower the heat, then add 150 g onion. Cook for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent without browning.
  3. Add the ground spices for the sauce, 12 g green chilli and grated fresh ginger to taste. Stir to coat the onion.
  4. Pour in 203 g coconut milk and heat until it starts to bubble, then take the pan off the heat. Add lime juice to taste and 30 g coriander leaves. Season with caster sugar and sea salt to taste. Cover and set aside; reheat before serving.
  5. For the eggs, heat a pan of salted water. Lower 4 of the 300 g eggs into the water and cook at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes. Move the eggs straight into iced water. When cool, peel them and set aside.
  6. In a bowl, mix 160 g white crab meat, 80 g brown crab meat, 6 g ginger, 9 g garlic, 9.9 g green chilli, 30 g coriander leaves and 30 g curry leaves. Shape the crab mixture around each egg.
  7. Beat the remaining eggs from the 300 g. Combine 200 g plain flour and 500 g panko breadcrumbs in a bowl. Roll each crab-coated egg in the beaten egg, then in the flour and breadcrumb mixture.
  8. Chill the coated eggs in the refrigerator until the coating is firm.
  9. Heat 913 g vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or kadai to 180°C (350°F). Test with a small piece of bread; it should fizz at once. Lower the eggs in one at a time and fry for 3–4 minutes until golden brown. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper.
  10. Reheat the moilee sauce. Quickly cook samphire to taste in a little oil or butter and serve with the Scotch eggs and sauce.

Don't have something?

Egg
  • Chickpea flour

    For binding, use about 10 g chickpea flour mixed with 20 ml water per egg and rest for 10 minutes. Denser and nuttier; not suitable for baking or coating in the same way.

  • Full-fat natural yoghurt

    Use about 30 g per egg for moisture and binding in koftas or fillings. Adds tang and softness; will not set or glaze like egg.

  • Tofu

    Use the same weight, mashed, for egg-like bulk in curries. Soft and bland; add extra spices and do not expect it to bind.

White crabmeat
  • Crab

    Use the same weight of cooked picked crab; check for shell and add at the same stage.

  • Prawn

    Use the same weight, chopped; cook 2–3 minutes less or they toughen.

  • White fish fillet

    Use the same weight, steamed and flaked; fold in near the end to avoid breaking.

Brown crab meat
  • White crab meat

    Use the same weight; it is milder and less rich, so add a little extra butter or oil.

  • Crabmeat

    Use the same weight; mixed crabmeat gives a balance of brown and white meat.

  • Crab

    Use the same weight of picked meat; adjust seasoning as fresh crab varies in saltiness.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Green chilli
  • Chilli powder

    Use 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Coriander leaves
  • Coriander (cilantro) or basil

    Use the same weight, choosing the coriander element if available. If only basil is available, expect a sweeter, more aniseed flavour.

  • Basil leaves

    Use the same weight. Basil is sweeter and more aromatic in a different way; add near the end so it keeps its perfume.

  • Coriander paste

    Use 1.5 times the weight and reduce other liquid slightly; it is less fresh and more concentrated, so taste before adding more.

Curry leaves
  • Curry leaf

    Use the same weight; tear and fry in oil as usual.

  • Lime leaf

    Use 50% of the weight, torn; citrusy but not resinous.

  • Basil leaves

    Use the same weight; sweet and aniseed-like, but quite different.

Plain flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.

  • Cornflour

    For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Panko breadcrumbs
  • Breadcrumb

    Use the same weight; finer and denser, so the coating is less crisp.

  • Dried breadcrumb

    Use 80–90% of the weight; absorbs more, so coat lightly.

  • Fresh breadcrumbs

    Use the same weight; press on lightly and fry a little faster as they brown quickly.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Samphire
  • French bean

    Use the same weight; blanch for 2–3 minutes and add no salt, as beans are not salty.

  • Asparagus spear

    Use the same weight; blanch for about 2 minutes; similar shape but not salty.

  • Green bean

    Use the same weight; blanch for 2–3 minutes; gives texture only.

Coconut oil
  • Vegetable oil

    Use the same weight; it is neutral and will not add coconut aroma.

  • Groundnut oil

    Use the same weight; mild and good for frying, but no coconut flavour.

  • Ghee

    Use the same weight for richness; it adds a dairy aroma and is not vegan.

Yellow mustard seed
  • Mustard seed

    Use the same weight for tempering. It is the closest match; watch the heat because it can pop faster than yellow mustard seed.

  • Black mustard seed

    Use the same weight, or 75% if you want less heat. It is sharper and more pungent; temper in hot oil as usual.

  • Mustard powder

    Use about half the weight of whole seed, mix with a little water and add near the end. It will not give the same whole-seed crunch in a tempering.

Onion
  • Shallot

    Use equal weight, finely sliced. Shallots soften and brown faster, giving a slightly sweeter and more delicate base to curries.

  • Cabbage

    Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Coconut milk
  • Single cream

    Use equal weight; simmer gently over low heat to prevent curdling. Imparts a comparable rich texture, though it adds dairy richness without any coconut fragrance.

  • Cashew paste

    Whisk 1 part cashew paste with 2 parts water to match the consistency, then use equal weight. Provides a thick, velvety body without coconut flavour.

  • Whole milk

    Use equal weight, but reduce other cooking liquids by 20% to compensate for the lower viscosity. The curry will be lighter and lack sweetness.

Lime juice
  • Lemon juice

    Use equal volume or weight; slightly sweeter and less pungent, but otherwise an imperceptible swap.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight; imparts dry, fruity sourness, best stirred in right at the end of cooking.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 50% of the weight; delivers pleasant fruity tang but turns pale sauces considerably darker.

Caster sugar
  • Granulated sugar

    Use the same weight. It is slightly coarser, so stir a little longer to dissolve; in baking, grind briefly if a fine texture matters.

  • Demerara sugar

    Use the same weight, but dissolve it earlier as it is coarser. It adds a light caramel note and a little colour.

  • Ground jaggery or soft brown sugar

    Use the same weight; crush or grate jaggery first. It darkens the dish and adds molasses flavour, so reduce other liquid slightly.

Similar dishes

Cornish Crab Meen Moilee with Toasted Peanuts
Cornish Crab Meen Moilee with Toasted Peanuts tastes rich, tangy and gently hot with a nutty crunch, while this dish is crisp and eggy with a creamy coconut moilee sauce.
  • Same: Cornish Crab Meen Moilee with Toasted Peanuts shares white crab meat, coconut milk, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves, turmeric, black mustard seed, coconut oil, onion, coriander and lime juice with this dish.
  • Different: Cornish Crab Meen Moilee with Toasted Peanuts is a coconut crab curry with toasted peanuts and frisée, while this dish is a deep-fried crumbed Scotch egg with brown crab meat, flour, panko and samphire.
Nejandu Thoran
Crab Curry with Coconut
Nejandu Thoran tastes dry, coconut-rich and gently spiced, while this dish is crisp and deep-fried with a creamy coconut moilee sauce.
  • Same: Nejandu Thoran shares crabmeat, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves, turmeric and coconut oil with this dish.
  • Different: Nejandu Thoran is a dry sauté of crab with grated coconut, shallot, garlic, chilli powder, ground coriander and cumin seed, and it lacks this dish’s egg, flour, panko, mustard seed, deep-frying, coconut milk and lime juice.
Butter Garlic Crab
Butter Garlic Crab tastes rich, buttery, garlicky, peppery and lime-bright, whereas this dish is crisp fried egg with spiced crab and a creamy coconut moilee sauce.
  • Same: Butter Garlic Crab shares white crab meat, brown crab meat, green chilli, coriander and lime with this dish.
  • Different: Butter Garlic Crab uses unsalted butter, garlic, cracked black pepper, papad or bread and nori, while this dish uses egg, flour, panko, deep-frying, coconut milk, mustard seed, turmeric, curry leaves and samphire.
Karnatakan Mussels
Karnatakan Mussels tastes briny and creamy with gentle heat and a lime-coriander finish, while this dish is crisp fried crab-coated egg with a creamy coconut moilee sauce.
  • Same: Karnatakan Mussels shares curry leaves, green chilli, ginger, turmeric, coconut oil, mustard seed, onion, coriander and lime juice with this dish.
  • Different: Karnatakan Mussels uses mussels, white wine and coconut and is cooked by opening the mussels in wine then folding them through a masala, while this dish uses crab, egg, flour and panko and is deep-fried.