Pondichéry Egg Curry Recipe
Ryan Thomas is a university graduate who enjoys cooking recipes from a wide variety of culinary traditions.
Beautiful and resplendent with the bright colors of the curry contrasting against the bright white of the hard-boiled eggs, this Indian curry recipe is a lively and hearty dish that is especially well-suited for cold winter days. It has a host of different ingredients within—ranging from tomatoes, to carrots, to potatoes, and the normal Indian panoply of spices. Prawns are a delicious seafood, even if they are labor-intense to prepare. And they provide a pleasant flair as well—if one can afford it (they're terribly expensive to buy for me at least; hence, I only put a limited quantity). I recommend putting more in. But the eggs serve as a wonderful substitute for the normal sources of protein. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, they have such a different taste and texture from the rest of the curry that they're a wonderful treat. I love hard-boiled eggs myself, and it is always fascinating to find dishes that incorporate them so well.
I have adapted this recipe from The Pondicherry Kitchen: Traditional recipes from the Indo-French territory by Lourdes Tirouvanziam-Louis. I personally thought that the original recipe presented was rather bland. So I changed some things around and added in a different array of spices (in particular curry powder, as the previous recipe didn't really taste very much like a curry—perhaps that is the intent in Southern India, but I preferred it my way), as well as altering the portion sizes for fit our family's needs. Still, despite the critique, the recipe presented made a wonderful base, and I look forward to cooking more from this book.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 green chillies
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 onions, peeled and chopped
- 1 inch ginger, crushed
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1/3 lb prawns
- 20 cashew nuts
- 2 potatoes
- 5 hard boiled eggs
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine together the coriander, green chilies (remove some of the seeds if you want a less spicy curry, but I recommend keeping them in), and sesame seeds, and either grind together or chop finely and mix.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or other cooking vessel, then add the ground cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and the onions, and fry until the onions are golden.
- Add the ginger and garlic. Continue to fry until the onions are golden brown.
- Add the coriander seeds, green chilies, sesame seeds, turmeric, curry powder, fry shortly, then add the tomatoes and salt. Add the potatoes now.
- Add the prawns and the cashews, then the coconut milk. Cook over low until the potatoes are soft.
- Add the white wine and mix in, then deck the top with hard boiled eggs. Serve immediately over white rice.
© 2018 Ryan Thomas