Egg Curry

The Spring egg glut situation is still going on.  The goose eggs have started hatching (three babies today and another egg or two to go)  and the ducks have slowed down laying.  But the chooks are still laying four or five eggs a day (even though some of them are well into chook middle age).  So I made an egg curry on the weekend for a curry night feast for about twenty people, and it turned out so well that I made it again for just us.  It’s fast and easy and healthy enough to qualify as a  Tuesday Night Vego Challenge recipe but glamorous enough to make a good curry night feast dish too.

The Recipe

Serves 4 as a main dish.  This is a mediumly spicy curry but if you keep the  the chili, mustard, ginger and turmeric on the low side,  kids are likely to find it not too spicy. Like most curries from scratch it looks like a lot of ingredients, but they are all common spices and it is actually very quick and easy to make.

In a heavy pan, sauté 2 onions (chopped) in some olive oil until they just start to soften.  Then add:

• 2 scant teaspoons of coriander seeds
• 2 scant teaspoons of cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• seeds from one or two cardamom pods

Cook for a minute or two until the seeds start popping, then add

• a small amount of chili or chili powder (depending on how spicy you like your food and how hot your chilis are, but it doesn’t need much. I used a scant half a teaspoon of my homemade chili powder)
• one or two cloves of garlic,
• two teaspoons of grated fresh ginger
• two teaspoons of grated fresh turmeric (or one teaspoon dried)
• pinch of  cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• little pinch of cloves
• good pinch of salt
• grating of black pepper

Cook for a minute or two, then add a jar of crushed tomatoes, a couple of bay leaves, and enough water to make a thick sauce.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, just to let all the spices mingle.

While it is simmering, hardboil and peel 8 eggs and chop them in half.  You will find this much easier if you use slightly older eggs.  People tell me that putting the eggs in ice water helps if the eggs are too fresh to peel easily.

Take the sauce off the heat and add a good handful of finely chopped fresh coriander and stir through.  Then add the eggs and stir gently to cover them in sauce.

Serve with rice and/or naan bread.