Egg Curry / Poached Eggs in Spicy Coconut Gravy

If you haven't tried cooking eggs directly in the curry, then you should. It's easy, saves time and also turns out quite tasty since the eggs absorb the spices in the gravy. Here's another poached egg curry recipe which is much easier. This one, (similar to this recipe) takes a bit of time because of the roasting and grinding of spices, but tastes fantastic! I have used a couple of spices here which may not be available in your pantry. One is star anise and the other is khus khus. If you don't have these, don't worry, just add an extra clove or a bigger piece of cinnamon. But I would urge you to buy these. Star anise lends a great flavour to your pulao or biryanis, so you can always use them there. Khus khus (poppy seeds) give a unique flavour to this dish. I will soon post another recipe using this spice.

Ingredients:
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp khus khus
3 to 4 cloves
2 cardamom
1" cinammon stick
1 star anise
6 to 7 red chillies (I used byadgi / kumte mirsang)
3 to 4 curry leaves
2 medium onions
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder (adjust according to taste)
About 1 cup thick coconut milk
6 to 8 eggs
Salt
Oil
Water

Method:
In a small pan, heat 2 tsp oil. Roast corainder seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, khus khus, red chilies and curry leaves on a low flame. Transfer to a blender.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat oil. Sauté onions till brownish. Transfer half the roasted onions into the blender. Blend with roasted spices, 1/4 cup coconut milk and some water. Grind into a smooth paste, adding more water if required.

In the deep bottomed pan with the rest of the roasted onions, add ginger garlic paste and roast. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and roast for a couple of minutes. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut milk and bring to a light boil. Add the ground paste, 1 cup water and salt and bring to a boil. The gravy should be slightly salty.

Now it's time to add the eggs. Break eggs one by one and pour into the gravy. The eggs should be placed beside each other like you see in the picture. Don't mix. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Check once in between to make sure there is enough gravy, but don't mix. Flip the eggs and cook for a couple more minutes. Adjust salt and mix gently.

Make sure the eggs are completely cooked. You can cut the cooked eggs into half if you wish. Also, for a richer colour you can mix 1/2 tsp kasmiri chilly powder with some water and drizzle on the dish.

Stumbler / Scrambled Eggs with Bite-Sized Bread / Scrumbler

This dish is another childhood-favourite. I've been calling it 'stumbler' from the time I can remember. I've had it in a couple of fast-food joints in M'lore most often with a dear cousin, same age as me. During my summer vacations I would end up at her place and we would walk aimlessly, 'accidently' bumping into a particular store to have a plate each of spicy, hot stumbler.
My favourite stumbler, however is prepared by my Pachi who recently corrected me saying it's actually 'scrumbler' and gets it's name from the scrambled eggs in it.

I was expecting a friend and her family for tea today so prepared this dish following Pachi's recipe. It's an easy to make, delicious dish which your guests will enjoy eating.

[Video update on 1/08/2016

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Ingredients:
3 or 4 medium onions
2 tsp chilli powder
2 medium tomatoes
2 green chillies
5 eggs
1 tsp garam masala
4 or 5 slices bread
Salt
Ghee
Oil
Coriander leaves
1 pinch black pepper powder (optional)

Method :
Chop bread slices into small bite-sized squares.
Chop onions, tomatoes and green chillies finely.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat 1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp ghee. Sauté onions till they turn translucent. Add chilli powder, roast for a couple of minutes and add tomatoes. Sauté till tomatoes are completely cooked. Add minced green chillies and black pepper powder and mix.

Now add eggs one by one, beating each egg till it gets scrambled. [ Add one egg, whisk, add another, whisk ]. To this add garam masala. Now add 2 tsp of ghee and salt to taste and mix. Add the bread slices, mix well and cook for 5 to 6 minutes till the bread becomes soft and pulls in the masalas. [ I added 5 bread slices. If you don't like bread in every bite you can reduce it.  Adjust the spices accordingly].

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Relish it for breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner - it's a complete meal in itself.

Poached Egg Curry

Both my husband and I love egg curry. Over the years, I've been making egg curry the usual way - boil the eggs, cool, peel, halve and place it in the curry. However I recently discovered the poaching method, and thought of giving it a try.
We liked this better than the usual method. The eggs are cooked in the curry, that way they absorb the curry better and are more flavourful. Also, you save time, since you are just breaking the eggs directly into the curry.

The recipe I used was the usual one I make egg curry with. Here it is:

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 large onion
1" piece cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardomom
1 bay leaf
1 and 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tomato
1 tsp chilly powder (or to taste)
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp corriander powder
1 pinch turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil
Corriander leaves.

Method:
Heat oil. Add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf and roast for sometime. Add finely chopped onions and fry till they turn brownish. Add ginger garlic paste and  the powders and fry for a couple of minutes. Add finely chopped tomato and fry till completely cooked, about 5 minutes. Add 1 and 1/2 cups water and bring the curry to a boil.
Break one egg and let it fall into the curry. Do not mix. Break another egg and let it fall next to the first egg. Repeat with the rest of the eggs. Do not mix.

Add salt. Do not mix :).Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and check if you need to add more water. Cover and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

You can mix the curry once the eggs are completely cooked. Garnish with corriander leaves.