ADILABAD: People suffering from seasonal diseases, especially typhoid, are after crabs to get themselves cured by intake of crab curry or by sipping its juice.
Crabs are considered non-vegetarian, a healthy food and a good source of proteins. It contains medicinal minerals. Crab flesh has a significant level of phosphorus and selenium.
Crabs are popularly known as ‘Endrikayalu’ and ‘Peethalu’. People in rural and tribal areas believe crabs have medicinal value and those suffering from viral fevers, malaria and typhoid will get cured by intake of this as curry or by making a soup out of them.
Earlier, crabs used to be sold for Rs 150 for a pair but are now sold for Rs 250 to Rs 300 because of its importance as a medicine to get rid of seasonal diseases.
People generally prefer big-size crabs since they have more liquid in them. The liquid is inside the shell of crabs and it works like a potion. Some people directly sip the liquid by removing the shell of wet crabs.
Some others eat crabs directly after burning them on fire pellets and there are those who cook their curry with crabs and eat it or consume its soup.
Older people have expertise in cooking crab curry. People directly swallow the liquid in white, green and black colours found inside the shell of live crabs.
There has been a good demand for crabs for the last two months after the floods and subsequent eruption of seasonal diseases in the rural, tribal, and urban areas of the Adilabad region.
Govind Ryapalwar of Indravelli town said he ate crab curry and sipped their soup to get cured from typhoid. This as he failed to get cured after taking medicines from the government and private hospitals.
Ryapalwar said the ‘crab medicine’ was being used by his forefathers to get cure from seasonal diseases especially typhoid.
Marugu sells crabs he captured from the local streams and rivulets and sells at the roadside in Indravelli town. He said there was good demand for crabs this season in view of the eruption of seasonal diseases following the floods, change in the weather conditions and contamination of water.
Premkumar of Indravelli said he learned to cook crab curry from his mother and relatives. Crabs curry should be cooked like ‘anda (egg) curry’ and ‘chicken curry’.
Dr Kudimetha Manohar, Agency DMHO, said crabs have nutritional value.
