If you’ve never had egg curry you owe it to yourself to try it. Unless you don’t like eggs. Can’t help you there. But if you like Indian. And you like eggs. Then this one will surprise you. You never see this on Indian menus. And that’s a shame. Because there’s more to Indian cooking than the same 10 dishes on every menu. I like a good jalfrezi. And who doesn’t love tandoori chicken. But there’s more. Much more. Like this south Indian egg curry. I really don’t get why Indian restaurants stick to the same old same old when they have a wonderland of food to draw on. Crazy.
This egg curry has big south Indian flavours
This is firmly in the south Indian camp. It has all the hallmarks. Coconut. Green chilies. Curry leaves. Black pepper. Tomatoes. Any time you want to whip something up that has a south Indian feel just throw those ingredients into the mix. It just works. In fact that’s how I came up with this. Felt like south Indian. Did not feel like going to the store. Always have eggs in the fridge. Egg curry for dinner. I tinkered with it a bit but it pretty much just worked.
Good egg curry starts with perfect hard-boiled eggs
Perfect hard boiled eggs are easy to make. This always works. I didn’t come up with it. I learned it from Cooks Illustrated. And it has been my go to ever since. If you have one of those egg hole punch things use it. The ones that put that pin-hole into the shell. Place the eggs in a pot and cover with water. About an inch over the eggs is what you are looking for. Bring the water to a boil over medium high heat. Turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Set a timer for 10 minutes. While the timer is counting down prepare an ice bath. Ice and water in a big bowl. When the timer goes off drain the eggs and submerge them in the cold water. Leave them there until they are cold. 10 minutes should do it. Peel. Perfect hardboiled eggs every time. Except for egg curry you want to set your timer for 9 minutes. So they are just slightly under perfectly done. They will cook a bit when you warm them up in the curry.
Indian restaurant style cooking
This is a restaurant style curry. Cooked exactly like they do in restaurants. To order. 10 minutes from the time the oil hits the pan to dinner on the table. That means you need to be set up to go. Go fast. Have all your prep done. Curry base at the ready. Spices measured. Eggs cooked and sliced in half. Everything in easy reach. Because that’s what they do in restaurants. That’s how they crank out curries in no time flat. This is learning a whole new way to cook. If this is your first time read this primer on Indian restaurant cooking. It has the techniques. A video even to help you understand. It’s not hard. You just need to get your head around it. But the good thing is once you do you can make anything they can. More even. There are lots of Indian restaurant recipes on this blog. And more coming all the time.
A great vegetarian dinner
Egg curry is great with rice. With parathas. With a dal palak. Or any dal really. Maybe a vegetable curry as well. Fabulous. This is the type of vegetarian cooking that I like. Where I don’t actually notice it’s vegetarian. It’s just good food. Egg curry. Make it. Once you taste it you’ll be glad you did.
