Egg Poppy Curry

I love eggs. Before my marriage when my mother-in-law visited our house to see me for the first time, she enquired of my favourite dish and my reply was "anything made with egg". No matter what, one carton of eggs is sure to be there in my fridge. Whenever I feel my stomach rumbling for food, I make an omlette or poach and my hunger is satisfied within minutes. Such is the usefulness of having eggs all the time at home that even if a guest drops by unannounced, you can offer him something or the other prepared with egg.

Egg being one of my favourite, I keep experimenting with its preparations and keep an eye out for new recipes. I first tasted Egg Poppy Curry at my sister's home. Unlike me she didnt give curry leaves into her preparation, but staying in South India for two years, somehow this tendency to add curry leaves to my non-veg items has grown in me and curry leaves are produced in such an abundance here that it naturally becomes a part of your cuisine.

Ingredients:                                                 Cooking time: 20 minutes

7-8 hard-boiled eggs

1 onion (chopped)

1 tomato (made into puree)

6-7 green chillies (turned into paste)

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

4-5 cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

25 gm coriander leaves (for garnishing)

white oil for cooking

For phoron (sauting)

4-5 curry leaves

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

Method:

1) First grind the following ingredients together to make a special spice that forms the core of this dish: cinnamon stick, 4-5 cloves, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds & 1 tsp poppy seeds.

2) Heat oil in a pan & when smokes comes out from the oil, toss in the eggs and lightly roast them till they turn orange. Take them off the heat and keep aside.

3) Add the ingredients for sauting and saute till they begin to crackle. Then add onion and fry till it turns translucent.

4) Add ginger paste, garlic paste, tomato puree, green chilli paste & the special ground spice. Saute for 5 minutes. Add water as per your need for gravy and let it come to a boil.

5) When gravy bubbles up, add salt & slide in the eggs. Cook covered for 5 minutes.

6) Garnish the dish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot.