Recipe South Indian Egg Curry, with Veggies and Coconut

[Mountain Cat]

(Serve over rice, garnish with cilantro if available or desired. )

South Indian Egg Curry, with Veggies and Coconut

Prep Time: 30 minutes, more or less. (excluding egg boiling and eggplant resting)
Cook Time: About 30 minutes.
Rest Time: Unnecessary.
Serves: 4.
Cuisine: South Indian inspired.
Leftovers: YES!

• 4 hard-boiled/cooked eggs, peeled. (I used five...)
• 1 small European style eggplant.
• 2 tablespoons high temperature cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs curry leaves, chopped. (Mine were frozen; you could do one or the two, if fresh.)
• 1 cup onions, diced
• One half a bell pepper, chopped.
• 1 green chili, diced (I used one poblano, de-seeded and chopped)
• 1.25 teaspoons garlic ginger paste.
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped.... I used one cup of an open can of already chopped, diced tomatoes, since there are no fresh tomatoes worth eating here -- eyeballing an equivalent amount.
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes.
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric.
• 3/4 teaspoon red chili powder. (I used cayenne)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala.
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander.
• Salt as needed.... start small, work up.
• 0.5 cups water, as needed. (But see below.)
• 3 tablespoons coconut milk, the stuff in a can. Guess what - I used the whole can. 400 grams. But the recipe turned out fine anyway. If you use 3 tablespoons, then up above use 0.75 cups to 1 cup water, as needed - I had to cook this down further to draw off excess liquid.
• 3 tablespoons cilantro / coriander leaves, chopped. (I so wish I had, but consider them optional. Especially for those who consider them soapy.)

1. Remove bitterness from eggplant by slicing it in half, and letting it soak with salt for at least an hour, over a colander. Once that's done, wash off the excess salt. Set aside.
2. Cook those eggs, score them lightly around their surfaces. Set aside.
3. Mix the tomato and coconut flake together. Optionally, you can puree them, but this is not necessary.
4. Heat a large skillet with your cooking oil to medium high. Toss in the cumin seeds and allow to roast for about two minutes, or until they sizzle, but before they burn. Add the curry leaves in fragments. This will only need a few seconds to cook. Then, toss in the onion, stir, and allow to turn translucent. This may take ten minutes.
5. Then add in the peppers and the eggplant, continue to stir fry as they soften, another 5 or so minutes.
6. Add the garlic ginger paste, and sauté until the garlic loses that raw aroma.
7. Add the tomato/coconut flake mixture. Mix briefly, then add the spices: chili, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, salt. As needed, if things start to dry too much, add water.
8. Add the eggs, and allow these to cook in for a good five or so minutes, so that juices can penetrate the slits in the eggs. Stir gently so as not to break up the eggs.
9. Make sure everything is melded well, then add the coconut milk (either the 3 tablespoons, or that entire can). Mix gently further, and if necessary, reduce liquid to a curry consistency at a low simmer.
10. Serve over rice, topping with optional cilantro.

This recipe has been adapted from South Indian egg curry recipe. I had eggplant and a bell pepper here saying, "use me or lose me" Poblano pepper was substituted for the green chilli. I was also getting tired by the end and forgot to re-read the recipe, and added the entire can of coconut milk rather than just the 3 tablespoons called for. Hey, this is the Coconut Challenge, anyway!!!

 

[Morning Glory]

This looks great. I love egg curries. I'd not heard of scoring the eggs before adding to the curry. I guess that allows more of the curry flavour to penetrate the egg.

 

[Yorky]

This looks great. I love egg curries. I'd not heard of scoring the eggs before adding to the curry. I guess that allows more of the curry flavour to penetrate the egg.

I generally "score" and shallow fry hard boiled eggs when adding to curry.

Fried eggs.

• Yorky
• 15 Jun 2019

[Edit: The eggs above were shallow fried in olive oil infused with a little turmeric and a little chilli powder.]

 

[Mountain Cat]

I know that the egg curry that was brought to me (from a northern Indian co-worker) after I broke my ankle and was recovering was not scored. But it seemed a good idea to bring in seasonings and juices.