I created this blog account long time ago but kept second gusseing myself about which should be my very first recipe post. Eventually I delayed so much that now I feel i would decide on nothing and this blog will keep having no post. Finally I decided, the very first post should be the recipe which I successfully cooked for the first time and hence, the egg curry! Yes that was my first successful and only popular dish among friends and the then boyfriend now husband. This has also been one of my favorite dishes for a long time - the best being cooked by my Ma and my lt. Pisuthamma!
There are other egg curries which were and will never be my favorite but I will never forget about few of them. One is Chetta's unda-currryyy! Now some of you already know what I am talking about. For rest, when I was in Trivundrum for a training, the only reasonable dinning option used to have some kind of curry everyday. If you are smart and good planner you will be there by 7:30pm and Chetta (local term for brother) -the food corner owner will greet you with a big smile announcing the menu that there is unda(egg) curry today. And that was a luxury! An hour later there will be Onion curry with little less smile- basically the left out curry part of the evening unda curry. The luxurious unda curry constituted of fried onions in boiled turmeric water and a boiled egg dropped in the pool. As much as I would love to get back to any dinner with the friends from then but I don't feel the same way about the most (read only) wanted dish there. However, thanks to Chetta we all started to appreciate home made food a lot more - simple or special.
Here goes the recipe of the egg curry I make and my friends loved....
I will give the measurement for 4 eggs but I usually eyeball most of the ingredients and I will encourage anyone trying this recipe to do the same.
4 large or 5 small eggs --> 1onion julianed --> 0.5 inch ginger grated --> 3-4 cloves garlic grated --> 1-2 chilies finely chopped --> 1 tomato --> sugar, salt, turmeric, milk, Garam masala
Note: Garam masala in Bengali cuisine = Labanga(Lawng/clove) + elach (elaichi/cardamom) + darchini ( cinnamon stick)
Step1: Boil the eggs fully and peel
Step2: Sauté the peeled eggs in medium heat. This is a major difference between many other egg curry preparations - pleazzz don't skip. It shouldn't burn but most of the surface area should get brown color and crisp.
Step3: Heat oil and add whole but slightly crushed garam masala & 1 tej pata ( bay leaves).
Step4: As the above crackles goes onion+ginger+ garlic+chili. Add little salt. Heat on medium. Stir it occasionally to avoid sticking or burning but let it cook on its own for the most part.
Step5: Add the chopped tomato (its perfectly fine to just cut the tomato in half and squeeze them into)and add 1tbsp sugar(yes :))
Step6: Now it's time to keep a closer watch- as the onion mixture browns keep stirring and avoid burning. You shouldn't get any more raw onion/ginger/garlic smell.
Step7: Add 1 serving spoon size milk but before that reduce the flame for few minutes so that the milk doesn't curdle.
Step8: Add the fried eggs to the gravy, add salt as per taste and cook till the gravy and egg mix well with each other. You can add water at this point if you want more "jhol" / gravy or you can stop right here for a "Makha-Makha" / dry dish.
Taste your curry and Adjust salt if needed, otherwise you are done. If you are big garam masala an you can add garam masala powder right before taking it off the flame.
That's my dim-er kosha/jhol everyone liked. I (off course) messed it up when I cooked the same for in-laws upon my hubby announcing how popular my egg-curry is and I knew the difference in taste. I am sure you won't do that!
Anyway as a positive ending to the story I flared with the same dish and more delicious food before them and my parents!
Happy cooking!
