Egg Roast Curry

My great uncle was a magistrate and one of the most educated people in his village. This endeared him to the fathers of girls of marriageable age. He was handsome too, and so the mothers and the girls thought he was a very eligible bachelor as well :). And if he ever had to visit any of these homes,  he was most often welcomed with a bowl of eggs. What better way to enter a man's heart than through his stomach. And I am not surprised at the choice of "refreshment" served, because most people seem to love eggs. What I love most about them is that they are so versatile, they can be fried, baked, scrambled, they can used in numerous recipes to serve different purposes, and they can be had at any time of the day. Maybe god's intention of creating the egg was to help the busy woman cook a quick meal.


One of my favourite egg recipes is an egg roast curry which is a regular breakfast dish at home. I have brought down the spice level, and increased the quantity of tomatoes; otherwise I am using the same recipe my mother shared with me. I call it an egg roast curry, though there is no actual roasting of egg involved, because that's what we call it at home. I just hard boil the egg and add it to a spicy gravy.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
1.  4 hard boiled eggs
2.  2 onions chopped into thin, long slices
3.  3 tomatoes chopped into thin, long slices
4.  4 green chilies slit length wise
5.  3 heaped tsp red chili powder
6.  ½ tsp turmeric powder
7.  ¾ tbsp ginger finely chopped
8.  ¾ tbsp garlic finely chopped
9.  3 cardamom, 3 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 tbsp fennel seeds
10.  2 tsp pepper corns, coarsely ground
11.  3 tbsp oil
12.  salt, to taste

Method:

De shell eggs and cut into half, length wise.

Heat oil in a pan. Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and fennel seeds in this order and let them splutter for a few seconds. Saute onions till they have become tender and then add ginger, garlic and green chilies and continue sauteing for a few more minutes.

Reduce heat and add chili powder and turmeric powder. Fry for a few seconds till the onions are coated well with the spice powders.

Add the tomatoes and cook till they are very soft and mushy. Add salt and pepper and mix well.

You could add the eggs after taking them off the fire. Or else add them to the gravy and heat for some time, mixing everything together, taking care that the eggs do not crumble.


Egg roast goes well with idiyappam (rice hoppers) and even bread and makes a very satisfying breakfast.