Egg Curry, the Southern Way

In any family, not all family members enjoy the same foods. While I enjoy pretty much everything, my sister stays a mile away from karela (bitter gourd), my father isn't exactly thrilled by pumpkin and my mother prefers lamb over fish (although she cooks anything like a goddess). 

However, one of foods we all like - or rather love - are eggs. We wouldn't mind having eggs for breakfast each day (although we don't), and every once in a while, eggs take center-stage on a lunch or dinner table, with all of us tucking in with equal gusto. Happily enough, Indian cuisine has a fabulous range of egg preparations, some of my favourites including anda paratha / baida roti, anda bhurji, dim sheddho, egg appam, egg rolls etc. And of course, one has the quintessential egg curry, for which one has loads of different recipes to choose from. And thren you also have the wonderful Parsi community, which celebrates this one-ingredient food like no other. The eedu crowns many of their dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, my favourite being chicken farcha - succulent pieces of chicken fried in an egg batter.

So today, when invited by a Parsi friend for a potluck dinner, I decided to make a southern style egg curry that uses two ingredients that no good Parsi can resist - eggs and potatoes! 

If I say so myself, this dish is deeeelicious!!! It's easy on the palate, rich in flavour and one of those comforting dishes that you want to dip into again and again. It's one of the easiest preparations to make, it takes hardly any time to put together and it goes wonderfully well with freshly boiled rice, dosas, appams or a malabar parrotta. 

So if you're convinced and want to give it a shot, here's what you need to do:

Ahead of cooking time make sure you have:

6 boiled eggs, pricked all over with a fork

2 boiled potatoes (halved lengthways and then quartered lengthways)

2 large red onions (sliced)

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

a teaspoon of mustard seeds

a teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper

2 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste

half a teaspoon of red chilli powder

10 fresh curry leaves

2 slit chillies 

1 packet of coconut milk

First heat the coconut oil in a nonstick pan. When the fragrance hits you, throw in the mustard seeds and wait until they pop and splutter. Next, add the sliced onions, some salt, the cracked pepper and the ginger-garlic paste. Cook this mix, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and pinkish (be sure not to brown them). Add the chilli powder and cook for a couple of minutes. 

Next add a cup of water, the curry leaves and the chillies. Bring the mix to a rolling boil - you'll know you're on the right track if the gravy has a nice pinkish tinge.

Drop the sliced potatoes and the eggs into the gravy. Finally add the coconut milk and gently mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to you turn all the eggs once or twice, just to make sure that the gravy coats them completely. Add salt according to taste. Cook the mix for about 5 minutes and you'll find the gravy thickening nicely. It will have a soft pink tinge and will be amazingly fragrant. 

Aaaaand that's it - the southern style egg curry is ready to be served! Garnish it with a few fresh curry leaves,  just for that extra dash of green on the dish. Serve it up hot and fragrant and wait for the "Mmmmmmmm!" sounds which typically follow the first taste!