Anda Curry is one of Piyush’s favorite dinners. It’s inexpensive, incredibly quick to throw together and is super simple to make! In fact, it’s so easy that Piyush is usually the one who makes this dish for himself–although his recipe is completely different than mine. He likes his curries “watery” and I prefer mine thick. Tomato, Tuhmahto.
The hardest part to this curry is cooking the eggs, and even that is easy if you know a few tricks.
Would you believe me if I told you that I couldn’t successfully hard-boil an egg to save my life? It’s true. I’ve tried, and I always fail. It’s all about the timing, and unfortunately my timing is horribly skewed.
Sometimes the eggs would be nearly raw. Other times they would be so overcooked that the yolk would be green! Mmm…appetizing!
It wasn’t until I tried steaming the eggs that I was finally successful!
I place the eggs in the top portion of a steamer pot (I use a really cheap pot found at my local Asian market) and fill the bottom portion with water. Then I toss the lid on the pot, turn the heat to medium-high and set the timer to 18 minutes.
I walk away and forget them. Once the timer goes off, I remove the eggs from the steamer and run cold water over them. I then peel off the shells–which actually come off a lot easier than if I were to boil them.
Then I’m left with beautifully cooked eggs! Steaming the eggs also seems to keep the yolk from turning green…another bonus!
I cut the eggs in wedges–any shape will do, really–and smash a couple yolks to thicken up the curry later.
I suppose you wouldn’t have to add smashed yolks, but I like the richness and creaminess that it adds to the curry. Piyush says it reminds him of Afghan cuisine more than Indian. I’m not real sure about that, but I will say it’s dang delicious…whatever it is!
Once I have all my ingredients prepped, I toss a little mustard oil in my dutch oven. You could use regular oil or ghee, but I like the flavor the mustard oil adds to the dish.
I also toss in a few black mustard seeds, for good measure. Once the seeds begin to crackle, I tip in the onions and cook until they become soft and lightly browned.
Ginger and ground spices are added to the onions and cooked until they become really fragrant. Then the potatoes join the party.
Everything cooks together until the potatoes are softened and lightly golden.
Then I toss in a bit of sugar. Not too much, just enough to add a subtle sweetness to the dish.
Finally the tomatoes are tipped in
and smashed egg yolks are added…
I stirred everything together and made a really nice, thick “paste” out of the ingredients.
Then I add a little water to the curry and toss in the sliced eggs.
The curry will be pretty watery, but fear not! I bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the gravy thickens to my liking.
I hope you enjoy the recipe! If you try it, let me know your thoughts…I’d love to hear how it turned out for you.
Also, I’ve got to mention that soon I will be in India!
If you’d like to follow along on my adventures, be sure to follow My Fancy Pantry on Facebook and Twitter! You can also follow me on Instagram @sharimukherjee.
I’m not sure how my internet connection will be, but I will try to update both My Fancy Pantry and my new blog, Addicted to India (still in it’s beginning stages) as much as possible!
I’m so excited to share the food and culture with you all! I’m also excited to introduce you to Piyush’s family!
Speaking of Piyush’s family, my mother-in-law and father-in-law are both excellent cooks. If you have any suggestions of dishes I should learn or new recipes you’d love to see on the blog, leave them in the comments below. Maybe I can even convince them to let me shoot some cooking videos…
Shari’s Anda Curry Recipe
Serves 4-6
This recipe uses a lot of ground spices, but don’t let that scare you. You probably have most of the spices in your cupboard already! The curry is extremely rich, creamy and delicious. It’s simple enough for a weeknight dinner and sophisticated enough to serve at a dinner party. That’s right. I called an egg curry sophisticated. 🙂
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. mustard oil
- 1/2 tsp. black mustard seeds
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 2 potatoes- boiled, peeled and diced
- 10 eggs- steamed (or hard boiled) and sliced
- 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/16 tsp. ground clove
- 1/16 tsp. ground cardamom
- small pinch of chili powder- to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp. garam masala
- 1 tsp. corriander powder
- 1 tbsp. kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) *may leave out if you can’t find
- 1/2 c. tomatoes (I use diced, stewed canned roma tomatoes)
- small sprinkle of sugar
- lemon juice- as needed
- salt and black pepper- to taste
- Fresh corriander (cilantro)- to garnish
Directions:
- Smash two whole egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
- Add mustard oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot (like a dutch oven) and heat over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to crackle, tip in the onions.
- Cook the onions until slightly translucent and then add in the ginger. Allow the ginger to cook a minute or so, until the raw smell disappears. Add the diced potatoes and cook until they begin to take on some color. About 5 minutes, or so.
- Add the cinnamon, clove, cardamom, chili powder, bay leaves, turmeric, garam masala, corriander powder and dried fenugreek leaves. Allow to cook for a couple minutes until the spices become fragrant and the mixture begins to dry up. Add the tomatoes.
- Cook the mixture until the tomatoes break down then add a little sugar and the smashed egg yolk. Stir to combine. Once everything is combined really well and the mixture begins to form a paste add some water (around 1 cup) and bring to a boil.
- Once the mixture begins to boil and thicken slightly, add the sliced steamed (or hard boiled) eggs and season with salt and black pepper. Add a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice and garnish with freshly chopped corriander (cilantro).
i have no idea what this may taste like but I’m sure it is pretty amazing! Im not too familiar with indian cuisine, and curry can be a bit too intense for my taste, but I guess like anything else, it can be adjusted to personal liking. Your photos are so beautiful. thanks for posting this! One day, I will feel adventurous enough to try this!
Thank you for the comment and the kind words! You are right, Indian cuisine can be quite intense! Any of the recipes can be toned down to suit your tastes, and a lot of time cutting back on the chili will do the trick.
I do hope you give it a go someday! 🙂
This is one of my fave curries and yours looks immense! X
Thank you, Deena! It was quite delicious!
Reblogged this on blog mazgie72.
That looks fantastic. I make a lot of curry, but never one like this. I’ll have to give an egg curry a go!
You should! Not only is it quite delicious and filling, but it’s also on the frugal side!!! …assuming you have most of the spices. 😀
I have a lot of spice hanging around :D. I’m a huge curry fan.
Awesome!!! Any friend of curry is a friend of mine! 🙂
This looks fabulous, we will definitely be trying it. Look forward to following your trip to India! Safe travels.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy!!!
This looks amazing. Definitely a must-try on the days where my curry-hating significant other is out of town. I’ve never thought to steam eggs, either. I’ve got hard boiling down to a science, but before I figured out a technique that works for me, it was exploding eggs and raw yolks everywhere!
I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one who had exploding eggs and raw yolks! LOL …I guess we all have our downfalls. 😉 Your sig-other hates curry? 🙁 Maybe they just haven’t had a GOOD curry?
oh, they’ve had great curry. Just a general dislike, but that means more for me!
This looks so delicious! Love the use of so many different spices. Will have to stop by the store to pick up the ones I don’t have 🙂
Georgeous recipe! Looking forward to hearing about your stories from India 🙂
Beautifully photographed. We are huge curry fans here but we love eggs too – a perfect combination I think.
Thank you! If you ever give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Yummm, egg curries are the best! I’m going to show this to my fiancee Paula and see if she would eat it (since she’s an onion-texture-hater, though she enjoys egg curries otherwise). My favorite Indian egg curry that I used to make all the time before I met her called for an entire onion, thinly sliced (but not diced) and the onion texture made up the bulk of the curry (+ spices & eggs), so she would hate that, but I think we’d both love yours! 🙂
Allison,
I hope Paula would give it a try. Maybe if you blended the sauce before adding the egg yolks (so the onions were pulverized)…would that help?
Yes, that would definitely help. That’s how I make chana masala for Paula now, too.
Yum! I love chana masala!
It looks pretty interesting, I have never made curry in this fashion may be next time 🙂 In pakistan potato and egg curry is considered to be a bachleor’s dish i.e., boys/men living alone make this kind of dish. When I got married and had to take over the kitchen, after trying out the 2-3 dishes i knew how to cook already, I made potato and egg curry (after looking at an online recipe) and for the first time got to know how the curry’s look is generated 🙂
Definitely trying out this version since I’m an avid egg eater 😀
Asma,
I hope you enjoy my version! It must be bachelor food as it is the only curry Piyush will ever make (knows how to make?)! 🙂
Ooooohhh. I need that mustard oil! I’ve never heard of it! Beautiful recipe!
awesome..i’m gonna start cooking taking your recipes 🙂
Wow that looks delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe! <3
Awesome anda curry there! I am so pleased to see you using mustard oil. I love to use this oil as it perks up the flavors of the dish quite a few notches up. Mashing the yolk and adding it to the curry is a brilliant idea.
Amazing photos! Great and interesting recipe. I never thought about egg curry before. But looks really delicious.
one of my favorite dishes, looks absolutely delish!
Thank you!
This is a wonderful recipe!
I bought the same brand of mustard oil as shown in the picture and it said external use only. Did you use this one or another brand? I just couldn’t find mustard oil in my grocery store.
Hello Aparna!
Purchasing mustard oil here in the States is a bit weird. It does say “external use only”–I didn’t realize that until I cooked with it over a year, then I freaked out! BUT it turns out that it’s fine. It has something to do with the FDA not approving the use of mustard oil for cooking here (or so my indian grocer has told me…) I’ve been using it for years now, but I think I’ll do some additional research on the exact reason.
Also–this brand is one of the best I’ve tasted. It’s not quite so pungent.