I decided to cook Indian food last night. Such decisions are not made often enough in the Gujarathi household. Call me a stickler, but I don’t like cooking Indian food in my small apartment. The strong spices make everything smell like curry for days. The smell sticks to my bath towels in the bathroom, to the cushions in the living room, to my hair and clothes. Imagine a strong whiff of curry just when I am about to wipe my clean face with that towel. Nooooo thank you!
But as fate had it, yesterday I stumbled upon this video of Egg Curry from Show me the Curry. I was salivating at the end of it and smelly or not, I wanted to make and eat a whole pot of it! I made a few improvisations to the recipe like using lite coconut milk instead of regular; using more onions, and using Tandoori chicken masala instead of just chicken masala because that is what I had in my pantry. To go along with it, I made some white rice and heated up frozen naan.
I used 1 cup of white rice (unwashed) and let it soak in two cups of water while I spent an hour in Yoga. Once home, I turned on the fame on medium-low and let it cook uncovered for about 20 minutes. The rice cooked in the same time it took me to boil the eggs and make the curry. I have never made rice this fluffy and perfect before.
Miraculously the eggs too were boiled to perfection. The yolks were buttery with no sign of overcooking which usually appears in the form of a grayish layer between the egg white and the yolk. Julia Child would have been proud of the way I cooked these eggs.
The curry itself was so freakin’ easy to make. It tasted creamy and slightly sweet from the coconut milk but being spicy and flavorful at the same time. I ate mine over rice with lots of cilantro. Devang ate his with naan and rice.
It’s true that my hair smells like curry this morning. But it was a small sacrifice for deliciousness.
Recipe from Show me the Curry
Serves four according to the recipe but it feed two hungry folks last night with no leftovers.
Ingredients:
Oil – 2 tbsp
Bay Leaf – 1
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – ½” stick
Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp
Fennel Seeds – ½ tsp
Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped. I used 1 large Red Onion
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Chili powder – to taste
Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
Chicken Masala – 1 tsp. I used Tandoori Chicken Masala. MDH Brand.
Tomato puree – ½ cup
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Coconut milk – 2 cups. I used Lite Coconut milk.
Eggs – 6, hard boiled and peeled. I used 4 large eggs.
Cilantro – 5 sprigs, chopped (for garnishing)
Method:
- Heat Oil in a skillet or a pan on medium flame
- Add Bay Leaf, Cloves, Cinnamon, Cumin Seeds and Fennel Seeds.
- Once Cumin and Fennel seeds turn light brown, add Onion and saute till it turns brown.
- Add the following powders: Turmeric, Chili, Coriander and Chicken Masala.
- Saute for another minute or so.
- Add Tomato Puree, Sugar and Salt — mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add Coconut Milk and bring to a boil.
- To serve, cut eggs into halves, pour gravy into a bowl and top with the egg halves.
- Garnish the dish with fresh chopped Cilantro leaves.
Tips:
- Heat the gravy separately and then drop the eggs in just before you are ready to eat.
- Don’t have Tomato puree at home?…that’s Okay, take some fresh tomatoes and grind them in a blender.
My salivary glands are super active right now as I am reading this……mmmm…
oh forgot to mention how awesome the pictures are…. you know you can make your own cook book….. if you publish one, I will be the first to buy it.
am still salivating….