Muttai Kolumbu/ Egg curry with a Tamil Nadu influenced twist

We have friends living in the same apartment building. They happen to be from Tamil Nadu. Was hanging around at their place when pangs of hunger struck me.. 😉 So I decided to prepare some dinner at their place… I wanted to cook something from Southern India..

I was racking my brains & remembered this yummy tomato kolumbu (Sambar in Tamil Nadu) my mum prepares which is a perfect accompaniment for Idli’s (Indian steamed rice dumplings). I thought of preparing an egg curry with that recipe in mind. This has a few modifications from that original recipe though. This is hotter compared to that recipe as I have added some black peppercorns & it’s perfect for dinner with some chapatis’ on a cold night.

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6) Preparation Time: 20 mins (Minus the time taken for boiling eggs)
Eggs – 8, boiled and de-shelled
Onion – 1 large, diced finely & divided into 2 equal portions
Garlic – 2 cloves, chopped roughly
Ginger – 1 inch piece, chopped
Cloves – 2 whole
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Roasted Bengal gram/pottu kadalai in Tamil/ Roasted gram – 1.5 tbsp
Black peppercorns – 2 tsp
Tomatoes – 3 medium-sized, chopped into cubes
Red chilli powder – 1/4 tsp or more, depending on your taste
Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Yogurt – 3 tbsp
Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coriander leaves – 1-2 sprigs, chopped
Salt to taste

Method:
Start frying one portion of the onions in a deep bottom fry pan when the oil is hot. Make sure the heat is set to medium. Add some salt to reduce the time to fry the onions. Also add a pinch of turmeric. Meanwhile when the onions are getting done prepare the paste.

Preparing the paste:
Heat a fry pan and dry roast the coriander seeds along with the cloves, just till the coriander seeds turn a light brown. Add one portion of the diced onions along with the ginger, garlic, roasted bengal gram, black pepper corns to a blender or a food processor jar and grind it into a smooth paste. Add some water if required.

When the onions are translucent add the prepared paste and fry. Lower heat. Make sure the paste does not burn. Add some water to the blender jar, just to make sure we do not waste the paste stuck to the walls of the jar. We can add this water later on.

After about 4-5 minutes into the paste frying process add the red chilli, turmeric, cumin powder & fry for another 2-3 minutes. Roughly tear the curry leaves & add them. Next add tomatoes and fry them. Add some salt. When the raw flavours of the mixture begin to fade away add the fragrant water from the blender jar. Mix well. Add another 2 cups or 400 ml of water. Adjust salt. Increase the heat to medium so that the curry comes to a boil and any raw flavours if left fade away.

While the curry is set to a boil, cut each boiled egg into 2 & keep aside. After the curry has bubbled for at least 2-3 mins add the yogurt, mix well. Next add the eggs and let the curry bubble for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Garnishing:
Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve with some hot chapatis’.

 

If you would like to check out some more Tamilian recipe’s here are a few – Mint flavoured Tomato Rice, Arisi Paruppu Saadam, Mixed Veg Sambar.