Chop the ginger and garlic into lengthwise slivers. Coarsely grind the black pepper. Ensure the texture remains coarse. Easiest way to achieve this consistency is by giving whole black peppers a quick blitz in a blender. Thinly slice the onions. Clean and cut the crabs into pieces. If you using green chilies, slice them as well.

In a skillet, heat some oil , and fry the ginger and garlic. Fry on a medium flame, till they start turning to a beautiful golden brown colour. This mild frying will release a wonderful aroma. We want the final dish to retain these flavours.

Now add the onions, mix well and continue frying while stirring occasionally.

Once the onions turn translucent, add the ground pepper and mix well. Fry till the onions start to caramelize.

Add the crab pieces, salt and mix well.

Add the sliced green chilies. This is optional. Add chilies only if you want to add some chili heat to the gravy.

Pour a cup of water, mix well and cook on a low flame with the lid closed.

Cook for about 15 minutes. Open the lid. The crabs will be cooked by now. If you are using mud crabs, the shells will turn to a beautiful orange-red by now.

Add some curry leaves. Cook for another 10 minutes or so on a high flame to reduce the gravy. I usually reduce it to a thick consistency. If you want more gravy, don't cook for long on the high flame.

I usually serve this with some bread. The bread will soak up all the goodness of the thick sauce, and believe me, you would want some bread to wipe your plate clean once you start eating this!