South Indian Egg Curry

Here is a recipe I came up with as great way of using eggs in South Indian food. The combination of onions, curry leaves and hot chillies are intoxicating! Makes a great cold day meal.

To make into a paste:
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 branches ( approx 20) curry leaves
5 dried red chillies
1 inch piece ginger, sliced
3 Indian green chillies
5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Asafoetida powder

For the Curry:
5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 large potato, sliced in wedges
1 cup frozen peas
1-1/2 cups coconut milk
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp curry leaves, finely chopped

Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan and fry all the paste ingredients; the cumin seeds, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida, garlic and ginger for about a minute. Add the onions in and fry on medium-high heat until they turn translucent and light brown. Add this mixture into a blender, add 1/2 tsp salt and grind to a paste using needed coconut milk(about 1/2 cup). Make the paste smooth (pourable consistency) and set aside.

Heat the remaining 3 tbsp butter in a pan and add mustard seeds. As soon as it starts spluttering add coriander powder and turmeric powder. Fry for a few seconds, stirring continuously. Now add the potato wedges and stir well to coat them with the spice mix. Add some salt and fry on medium-high for a few minutes, until it turns golden brown. It doesn’t matter if it’s still not fully cooked.

Now add the ground paste to the potatoes in the pan and mix again. Let this cook for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat. At this point, pour in the remaining cup of coconut milk and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Pour about 1/2 cup of water to make it more gravy-like. Add the frozen peas, let this cook for another 10 minutes. Simmer the sauce till the potatoes are cooked and the gravy has become thick. If it seems too thick, add the needed water to thin it out and add salt to taste (if needed).

Gently immersed the halved boiled eggs in the sauce. Make sure the eggs are fully coated and immersed in the gravy. Simmer the eggs in the sauce for 10 minutes. Sprinkle more chopped curry leaves on top and Serve with hot rice or idiyappam ( Indian rice noodles).

It also goes great with rice. If you are not going to serve the curry immediately add the eggs in just before you are ready to serve.

Idiyappam and White Kurma

Idiyappam is a south Indian noodle made from rice flour. It is our South Indian version of rice sticks or rice noodles.

Kurma is a south Indian dish which is a type of a mixed vegetable curry but has distinct south Indian flavor to it. There are different kinds of kurma in our south indian cuisine, this particular one is called Vellai (Tamil for white) Kurma. It’s called White kurma because its made with coconut milk and yes the resulting kurma is white in color! The combination of idiyappam with vellai kurma is as authentic as it gets.

It’s simple to make and it will be the most delectable dish you have had in a while!

White Kurma:

To make into a paste:
5 Indian green Chillies (Substitute: 6 Serrano peppers)
5 cloves Garlic
2 inch piece of Ginger
4 Cloves
1 inch piece of Cinnamon
1 tsp Dhaniya Powder
1 tsp Salt

For the kurma:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 potatoes, sliced lengthwise (like for french fries) or cubed into 2 inch pieces
3/4 cup cauliflower florets ( I use frozen)
1/2 cup green peas frozen ( if ur using fresh, it will take longer to cook)
1/2 cup green beans(string beans : Frozen)
1 carrot, chopped
14 fl.oz coconut milk ( just over 1 cup)
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
2 tsp salt

In a blender, blend all the green chillies, garlic, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, coriander powder and salt with just enough water to make into a thick paste. Set aside.

In a soup pot melt the butter until it turns golden brown ( ghee). Add the onions and sautée for 5 mins until it becomes translucent and slightly golden brown. Now add the red chilli powder and potatoes. Add 1/2 tsp salt and cook covered on medium heat for 5 minutes. The potatoes will become slightly tender.

Now add in the paste made before with a few tbsp of water and cook on medium-high heat open for another 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, peas, carrots, green beans and another 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix well together , add 1/4 cup of water and cook covered for 10 minutes. Remove cover and cook for another 20 minutes uncovered. Keep stirring and mixing ever 5 minutes and add a bit of water if it becomes too thick.

Once all the vegetables have become tender and the raw smell of the paste has gone, remove from heat and pour in the coconut milk. Mix well and put it back on low heat and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and taste for salt and add if any more is needed. Serve hot with Idiyappam or Rice.

Idiyappam :

If I am in a hurry or lazy I use store bought idiyappam or dried rice noodles.
In that case you just have to soak the dried rice noodles in salted boiling water for 8 – 10 minutes and its done. Drain it and serve with the kurma.

You could also make your own. You will need :

Rice flour
Boiled water
Salt
Coconut (optional, I prefer not to use it)

Without the coconut it is more versatile to serve with different curries. One of my second favorite combinations is to serve idiyappam with egg curry. That’s comfort food at its best!

You will need a idiyappam press to make it. And a pressure cooker to steam cook it. If you don’t have a pressure cooker just use my easy method of steaming.

Click here for more information about it and how to make it.