Sister of Veeraswamy and a London gastronomy landmark in its own right, Chutney Mary is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.
Ten of those years have been spent at its current St James’ location, serving upscale Indian fare and picking up awards along the way — including being named the AA Restaurant of the Year in 2023, the first time the prestigious prize was given to a non-European restaurant.
Along the way, the restaurant has found its signatures — the green chicken curry has never left the restaurant’s menu, whilst the tandoori Japanese Wagyu with marrow has become recent hit with regulars.
Below, the restaurant shares its recipe for its Goan crab cakes, as featured on its new “Chef’s Gourmet Celebration” menu.
Hailing from Goa in the south of India by the sea, these crab cakes make the perfect summer starter and given the restaurant’s birth in 1990, a return to the late eighties cult menu item feels rather apt.
Makes 4 crab cakes
Ingredients
- 120g hand-picked Cornish crab
- 40g white onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp green chilli, deseeded and chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger, chopped
- 60g potato, boiled and grated
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg white, beaten, plus 2 whole eggs for breadcrumbing
- 10g coriander
- 60ml lime juice (fresh only)
- 90g panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)
Method
- Remove any bits of remaining shell from the crab meat.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the chopped onion, potato, chilli, ginger, and coriander.
- Gently add the flaked crab into the mix and add a third (around 30g) of the breadcrumbs and the salt. Lightly fold together.
- Add the lime juice and beaten egg for flavour and to help bind the mixture. Place into a refrigerator. (NB: Adding a tablespoon of mayonnaise to the mix can help give the crab cakes a silky finish).
- Crack two eggs in a flat mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, pour out the remaining panko breadcrumbs.
- Shape the crab mixture with your hands into a patty shape and roll into the breadcrumbs first. Then, roll into the egg and finally, back into the breadcrumbs. The crab cakes can be cooked immediately or put into the fridge for later.
- Deep fry in a medium hot fryer or shallow fry in a pan with a drizzle of oil until golden brown.
