Coconut Egg Curry - South Indian Style [Anda Curry]

Who doesn't enjoy a delicious lightly spiced flavorful coconut based egg curry? Egg is one quintessential breakfast food loaded with proteins- liked and consumed by all - good thing being a lot of vegetarians also consume it and are known as Eggetarians 😆  Eggs are the most nutritious food on the planet! There is no doubt about it! On top of everything else, they are also cheap, easy to prepare, go with almost any food and taste awesome.

Egg Curry from coastal southern regions of India is made using garam masala and coconut as its main ingredients. I have tried hard to get that exact taste like my mom's, but its tough 😊  I am close to it and have made my peace with it. ✊

I feel restless when I dont have eggs in my refrigerator. I have to stock it up as soon as I see around dozen left. Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, puffs, egg burji, omelettes, french toast, cakes etc- thats how Eggs are consumed in a healthy and regular basis in my household. It comes to my rescue when I am short on meat at home or for that matter even veggies. There used to be this famous jingle in India- Sunday ho Ya Monday Roz Kaho Ande 🥚 ... a good one indeed :)

 Back home Eggs are treated like a second class citizen 😂. No kidding, when I am chatting with my Mom and if I ask her- "what did you cook for dinner?" There is a sigh in her tone when she says.. just made some egg curry- followed by WHY that decision was made ---like didn't have time to get chicken OR no good variety of fresh fish was available in the market OR due to bad weather she was not able to go get fresh veggies etc etc. So you see what I am saying- justification on why egg curry was made ... 😛

Where as for me here - Egg curry day is like a celebration :) My son is thrilled as he is an ardent and loyal fan of eggs. My husband is neutral - he doesn't enjoy coconut curries so much ...yeh go figure 🙄 ! and Me- full focus on getting the curry taste right just like my Mom's... so its a fun affair.

As a kid, my sister and Mom loved full boiled eggs in the curry whereas me and my Dad loved fresh broken eggs in the curry. Till this date that has not changed. Separate 2 broken eggs always go in my funky-licious Egg Curry/Anda Curry! 

I do not know anyone around me that dislikes eggs. I have a cousin who couldn't eat it due to allergies and I used to feel so bad for her. While growing up my younger cousins gang loved my version of  Plain Omelette. My mom and aunts used to make us omelette loaded with onion/tomatoes/veggies which most of them did not like it then 😁  The same ones that we relish like crazy on Cruises now- 😎

Anyways, Lets get started with the recipe:

Please feel free to modify ingredient quantity as per your taste for spiciness and thickness of curry!

Ingredients:

4 boiled eggs + 2 fresh eggs

3 tbsp oil

1 big onion finely chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 tsp each ginger and garlic paste

salt as per taste

Masala Paste:

1. 5 cloves
2. 1 cardamom
3. 3-4 black pepper
4. 1/2 inch cinnamon
5. 1/4th tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
6. 1/4th tsp sesame seeds 
7. 1/4th tsp poppy seeds
8. 3 tsp coriander seeds
9. 7-8 red dry chillies [adjust as per your taste]
10. 1/2 cup grated coconut + 3 tsp dry grated coconut
11. handful of cilantro leaves
12. 1/4th tsp turmeric

Preparation:

• Roast ingredients from 1-9 in a tsp of oil for few minutes till its fragrant and put it in a blender.
• In the same pan roast coconut  till it is slight brown in color on low heat and then add it to the blender. Add turmeric , cilantro and make a paste by adding water sparingly. Keep aside.
• In a wide mouth utensil heat oil, add finely chopped onions and saute till light brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute further till the raw smell goes away. Add tomatoes and cook till everything comes together. 
• Now pour the ground masala paste and mix everything nicely. Bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for few minutes. Adjust water and add salt.
• Add the boiled eggs in the curry. You can lightly score the eggs from top to bottom with a knife or you can even lightly roast it in oil with garam masala powder [or chili pwd and turmeric pwd] before adding to the curry, or cut in halves and slide it in the curry- choice is yours! 
• Once the curry starts to simmer again - slowly break the remaining 2 fresh eggs and slide it in the curry. Leave it alone for 5-8 mins on low-med flame till the eggs are done. You can give it a light handed stir in between.
• Enjoy it with rotis or just plain rice or jeera rice. It super yum!

njoY! happY cookinG!!

Your feedback is important to me. If you have tried any recipes from Pinch of Swad, feel free to share with us.

You may also like Egg Biryani, Halloween Pizza Mummies, Chicken biryani

Health Benefits:

Incredibly nutritious food! In fact, eggs are pretty much the perfect food. They contain a little bit of almost every nutrient you need. Whole eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet, containing a little bit of almost every nutrient you need. Omega-3 enriched and/or pastured eggs are even healthier. Eggs are high in cholesterol, but eating eggs does not adversely affect cholesterol in the blood for the majority of people. Eating eggs consistently leads to elevated levels of HDL (the "good") cholesterol, which is linked to a lower risk of many diseases. Eggs are among the best dietary sources of choline, a nutrient that is incredibly important but most people aren’t getting enough of.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-health-benefits-of-eggs#section11

Chapli Kabab (Chicken)

Kabab or Kebab has a nice ring to it, it brings a smile on my face whenever someone utters that word. My mind starts getting images of get-togethers, fun with friends, with some beer or wine in the vicinity(yaasss),  jamming sessions, or a fancy restaurant, sometimes dhaba style restaurants too :) etc. etc. So in short, this dish brings happiness to me. It is served as an appetizer mostly during parties and get together's!
Of course, one shouldn't stop at that,  make it at home, in your kitchen whenever you feel like :)
I call it a 'Happy Side Dish'

It is a cloudy rainy day today in my town and I was craving for some chatpata (spicy peppery) snack. Had some minced chicken in the fridge, thought of making these chapli kebabs. Very easy to make, use the spices on hand, make patties and fry it in the oil!

  

Chapli kebab is a Pashtun-style minced kebab, usually made from ground beef or mutton with various spices in the shape of a patty. It originates from Peshawar in Northwest Pakistan and is also known as the Peshawari kebab.

The chapli kebab is a popular barbecue and street food in parts of Northern India, Pakistan, as well as in eastern Afghanistan. It can be served and eaten hot with naan bread, rice, or in burgers and sandwiches such as a Bun kebab or stuff in Pita Bread. Or just have as an appetizer with chutney dip, sliced onions and lemon wedges on the side.
Can't wait to dig in, every time I make something like this!

Here is the recipe for Chapli Kababs,

Ingredients:

• 1 16 0z  minced chicken pkt (or get chicken thigh or breast and grind using the blender)
• 1 med size onion chopped finely
• 2 tomatoes chopped finely (squeeze the water out)- I used cherry tomatoes :)
• 2-3 green chilies chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/2- 1tsp chili powder flakes (if you don't have, take dry red chili and crush it)
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds crushed in a mortar n pestle ( coarse coriander seeds pwd, a must step in chapli kababs)
• 1 cardamom crushed
• 2 cloves crushed
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour ( optional, if your mixture gets little soggy, add this)
• Oil to fry

Deep fried chapli kababs

Shallow fried Chapli Kebab

Preparation:

• Take a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except oil. Patties mixture should be dry enough. 
• Take a bowl of water at the side to dip your hands, while making patties. 
• Heat a pan with little oil in it. You can either deep fry it, which will taste awesome or shallow fry it(I like it this way)
• Take a small portion of the meat mixture and make patties by flattening it, you can give any shape you want. Traditionally it is given an oval shape. 
• Place in on the hot pan, it should sizzle. Let it cook for 3 minutes. Then flip and again cook for another 3 minutes or till done. Cook on medium flame. 
• Strain it out and place on the paper towel to absorb extra oil. 
• Serve hot with sliced onions, chutney etc. 

You may also enjoy Seekh Kebabs, Chicken Lollipops, Tofu Pan fry, Zucchini Paneer Flapjacks etc.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits:
Chicken is one of the best non-vegetarian sources of protein. It is lean meat, which means that it contains more amount of proteins and less amount of fat. Apart from protein, chicken is rich in several minerals like phosphorus and calcium, that helps keeps bones in mint condition. Also, it has selenium which has been known to cut a risk of arthritis.Chicken has two nutrients that are great for reducing stress – tryptophan and Vitamin B5. It boosts immunity (remember how we eat chicken noodle soup when we are sick?) and promotes good heart health as it is rich in vitamin B6, plays an important role in preventing a heart attack. so I say YAY to chicken!

Irish Soda Bread

We are going through a history where the world is witnessing a pandemic episode of Covid-19.  As the world reels in the #StayAtHome concept lots of new ideas are popping up on internet to keep oneself busy and sane. One of them being Baking YES... Baking Breads, Cakes, Muffins, Brownies, Pastries is at its peak and is being enjoyed thoroughly across the globe as we silently fight against the Virus and pray that it dies down.


Irish Soda Bread

I venture into baking once in a while. This time it was so tempting for me to just  not to ignore the call of baking a bread. But sigh!! I had to be patient as I did not have yeast in my pantry. Going to grocery stores at the drop of the hat is a big NO NO now, to add to it I kept forgetting to add that ingredient on my list of next home delivered order.

So I was left with no option but to look for something that used no Yeast. Something that was quick, simple and no fermentation recipe for my bread as I craved to make one!

And voila came across Irish Soda Bread in a 5 year old magazine which I was browsing while having my tea.
As befitting many of the best breads in the world – Irish Soda Bread is a traditional Irish speciality- it was made with only the most basic of ingredients: flour, baking soda (used as a leavening agent instead of yeast), soured milk to moisten and activate the soda, and salt.
Irish Soda bread remains an international favorite.  Before baking, a cross was cut on the top with a knife, to ward off the devil and protect the household. 
Something about it, when you mark that X just before the bread goes in the oven, makes you smile and you know it will come out right :)

You are going to love it I promise.

Made this in like 50 mins [included baking time] and it was ready to be relished with your butter/jam/marmalade.....

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup +2 tbsp - all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp regular rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking pwd
• 3/4 tsp baking soda ( preferably fresh)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cold u salted butter cut in small cubes
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp orange zest ( optional)
• 1/2 cup nuts or dried currents or cranberry
  

Preparation:

• Take all dry ingredients in 1 bowl and mix it with cold butter. Keep mixing the flour with butter till all cubes crumbles n become one with the flour ( you can flatten the butter with a spatula or use hands as you mix the butter with flour)
• Then in another bowl take egg, honey, buttermilk and whisk till everything comes together. Add nuts, zest and give a stir.
• Pour this mix into dry flour ingredients. Bring everything together with a spoon.
• On a parchment paper transfer the dough n knead it gently (sprinkle flour on top if needed) should be soft and little sticky.
• Give the dough any size you want like rectangle or round or square. Then with a knife make X sign on the loaf.
• Bake it on 350F/180C for 40-45 min ... Let it cool down before u slice and enjoy this beautiful loaf of bread.

just out of the oven the beauties :)

njoY!! happY bakinG!!

Egg Biryani

The love for Biryani will never diminish in my life :) Egg Biryani is another very swad-isht(delicious) to taste and quick to make dish. I have a winner recipe here :) Love for eggs is inbuilt in me and my family. We can have it anytime of the day. Most of the days my breakfast is incomplete without organic eggs. The recipes that can be churned out using eggs is innumerable. I am thankful that no one around me is allergic to eggs.

And who can forget that advertisement on television by National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) egg campaign called ”Sunday ho ya Monday roz Khao ANDE”- When I peel my boiled eggs I tend to happily hum this jingle :)

When I used to work in India a while ago, my office campus had a huge canteen that served one of the best egg biryanis. Fridays used to be my Biryani day...Ummm even thinking about it makes me want to have it now. The quantity of biryani served on the plate was for 3 people. And I used to finish all of it :) alone! Hmmm those carefree days when I didn't know what 'Calorie' was :):)- Blissful eh :)
You can also check out my Chicken Biryani here.

Anyways, coming to reality, I call this a jhatpat egg biryani as there is no process of dum involved. You straightway cook rice with the masala.  let us take a look at this recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Basmati rice (any long grain rice)
• 2 big onions sliced
• 4-5 green chillies sliced
• whole garam masala (4 cloves, 4 peppercorns, 2 inch cinnamon stick, 1 cardamom crushed, 1 tsp shah jeera or cumin seeds)
• 3/4th cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped mint
• 1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi)
• 1/2 tsp chilly pwd
• 1/2 tsp coriander pwd
• 1/2 tsp jeera pwd
• 2 heaped tbsp biryani masala (Everest or Badshah will do)
• salt as per taste
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 3 cups water
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp ghee (butter)- can add more.

Egg coating and frying:

• 5 eggs boiled
• 3 tbsp gram flour (besan)
• 1/4th tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli pwd
• pinch turmeric
• salt as per taste
• 3 tsp oil to fry

Preparation:

• Wash, rinse and soak the rice for 30 minutes, drain and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a wide mouth (nonstick) pan, add whole garam masala ingredients and saute lightly for a minute, add sliced onion and saute till light- med brown.
• Add cilantro, mint, green chillies saute for a couple of minutes, add ginger garlic paste and saute.
• On low heat add yogurt and mix properly, saute for a minute or so. It becomes like a thick paste. Add all the powders, saute quickly.
• Now add the rice and saute again for a couple of minutes with a light hand, we don't want to break the rice grains.  Add water, salt and bring it to a boil. Now close the lid, sim the gas and let it cook for about 12-15 minutes.
• Make a paste by adding everything together under Egg coating and frying by adding very little water. 
• Heat a pan and add oil, take your peeled boiled eggs, coat the paste on it and slowly slide in the pan, grill it from all sides cooking a minute or so on each side. 
• Now open the lid of your Biryani when it is about 8 minutes into cooking and place these eggs evenly on top of the rice and continue to cook till the rice is done. Drizzle ghee/butter generously over the pulao.
• Garnish with cilantro! Serve hot with raita, salad or some nice spicy thin red gravy.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Notes:* At home I serve ghee/butter on the plate individually based on everyone's liking. One can also add a little bit of saffron water on top to get that yellow color on grains along with flavor and aroma of course. The color of Biryani can look different based on how brown the onions are cooked and brand of biryani masala. You can also add fried onions as garnish.

Coated Egg fry adapted from vahrevah.com chef. 

Health Benefits: Eggs are high in protein content. Eggs contain all the essential amino acids in the right ratios, so our bodies are well equipped to make full use of the protein in them. It has choline content which is used to build cell membranes and has a role in producing signalling molecules in the brain, along with various other functions. It has cholesterol, yes, but new studies are coming up showing the content of cholesterol is not bad as it used to be 10 years back. Probably depends on how the hens are fed and taken care of. Choose organic version. In fact, eggs are highly fulfilling and tend to make you eat fewer calories, helping you to lose weight. Eat in proper proportion to enjoy the deliciousness and calorie intake of this biryani in order to avoid a guilt trip :)

Bread Pudding

This dish brings back to me the memory of my neighbor sharing her piece of bread pudding dessert whenever she made some. When you have few people coming over for a get-together this will make an apt decadent dessert. Simple to make and yummy to taste, your guests will leave satisfied and praising your baking skills, guaranteed :)

So let's take a look at the recipe:
Ingredients:

• 9-10 slices of regular white bread (can use wheat bread)
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (i used half white, half brown)
• 2 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 5 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• pinch of nutmeg powder
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preparation:

• In a baking tray, add roughly torn bread slices.
• Drizzle melted butter evenly over the top.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla essence, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• Pour this mixture over the bread in the tray.
• Add raisins on the top evenly. Keep aside for 10 minutes, as the mixture soaks in the bread.
• Now bake on 350F(180C) for 50 minutes. Many a times it depends on the oven too, so keep a close look on the dish after that. It should be springy when you touch it, or continue baking for 5-10 minutes more. 
• Serve whichever way you want, square pieces or like a wedge. You can also serve it with a scoop of ice-cream or any chocolate sauce. Personally I like it just the way it is :)

njoY!! happY cookinG!!