cheap eats - Travels for Taste

Egg curry and soft paav or square buns are the most common hostel food that one can make with a saucepan, some eggs and a few basic ingredients. It is hugely popular as a filling, tasty curry and there are as many variations as the imagination, one’s budget and availability of ingredients on a particular day will allow 🙂

This version is what I always make and is sort of derivative of what would be made in the North of India. I sometimes like to make it into a coastal flavoured one by adding freshly grated coconut but that’s only if I want to make it posh but that’s very, very rare. After all, this is a quick, save the evening sort of curry!

It’s National Curry Week and it’s wonderful to see how Britain has embraced an Indian food habit and made it, its own over the years, spinning off British Indian versions of popular Indian home-cooked curries.

I wanted to start off my posts for National Curry Week, with this one because of how easy it is to make and a great recipe for students everywhere 🙂

Serves:2

Total Preparation Time:20 Minutes

Ingredients:

4 eggs and use the same proportion of 2 eggs per person to scale up (for very hungry fells the more the merrier 😉
2 medium-sized red onion finely chopped
2 medium-sized tomatoes
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp garam masala
1 heaped tsp cumin powder
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
2 green chillies
1 tsp ginger paste
fresh coriander to garnish
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
a pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil – it’s easier on my conscience , use any oil or butter or ghee in dire straits!

Method:

Boil the eggs in an open saucepan and leave aside to cool
Roast the chopped red onion on a saucepan and spritz it in the mixer with the chopped tomatoes and green chillies. (If you want a coastal touch add 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut in this mixture and puree it together, ensure to use at least 3 finely chopped garlic in the pan as they set off the taste of fresh coconut beautifully)
In a saucepan heat the oil and add a pinch of asafoetida, then add the chopped garlic and roast till it’s a light brown, then add the ginger paste, turmeric, red chilli powder,garam masala, coriander and cumin powders.
Stir in the onion and tomato puree.
Cook on a low flame for 2 minutes.
Then add some water to make a gravy-like consistency and ad the boiled, peeled eggs after cutting them in half, add salt and cook for a further 5 – 6 minutes.
Serve with hot chapatis/naan bread,paav, soft fresh wholemeal bread or with steaming hot boiled white rice – to make the rice taste heavenly drop a blob of butter, the steam trapped in the grains of rice will melt the butter into a golden pool of gooey goodness – pour the egg curry into this and enjoy the best and simple pleasures of curry!