Unde ki kari - egg curry - North Indian style

I don't really know if it is a North Indian style egg curry - you'll just have to take Neelam Batra's word for it as I got the recipe from her book 1000 Indian Recipes.



I'll vouch for the taste, though, and Pete will as well. He's far fonder of egg curries than I am, but this was very tasty even by my exacting standards *wink*. I would, of course, have preferred it spiked with more chillies, but since Pete had requested that I make the curry, I kinda figured that he would want to actually be able eat it, not just look at it and salivate (like he does with the sambar I make for myself occasionally). So here it is.

Recipe for: Egg curry - North Indian style



Ingredients:



3 medium tomatoes, pureed
1 large red onion, pureed
4 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and cut in half
1/2 cup yogurt
1 htsp coriander seeds
1 htsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp paprika
1 htsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)



3-4 green chillies, minced (to taste)
2-3 dry red chillies (or to taste)
2 tbsp powdered almonds
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

1. In a small pan, dry toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds till aromatic (45 seconds or so). Cool, then powder finely with a mortar and pestle. Reserve.



2. Heat one tbsp oil and fry the pureed onions with the minced green chillies till they change colour and lose moisture.



3. Add the pureed tomatoes and fry on medium-high till the sauce is thick. Stir in the turmeric powder, powdered coriander-cumin and paprika.



4. Cook for 3-4 minutes on high. Add the yogurt little by little, stirring all the while so that it does not curdle.



5. Pour in 2 cups water and salt to taste, and bring to a boil.



6. When the sauce gets to the consistency you want, add the eggs, carefully ladling the sauce over them to cover. Turn down the heat to a simmer, adding another 1/2 cup of water if required, and let the curry bubble undisturbed for about 7 minutes.



7. Now heat the remaining tbsp of oil in a small pan. Add the dry red chillies (leave them whole) and fry them for 30 seconds. Add the kasuri methi and let it fry for a few seconds, then add the powdered almonds. Stir it on high for about 30 seconds, then add it to the sauce and mix it in gently, careful not to break the eggs.



8. Let the curry simmer for 5 minutes longer. Serve hot with rice or roti, garnished with coriander leaves.