A tie to the past and a road to the future leads to masala egg curry.

When my eldest first came to me asking for a Facebook so many moons ago, my first reaction was – what! heck no! Make plans with your friends, see them in person, talk to them on the phone! (What’s really ironic is that my parents abhorred the fact that I spent so much time on the telephone and here I am telling mine to make phone calls!)

Once I realized that study groups and other school activities related information mainly through this medium, I agreed to let her open an account. But there were conditions – lots of conditions.

• I got to have full access to her page, including her password
• Sharing private information was not allowed
• She could not become friends with someone unless she already knew them and had met them in person
• Online courtesy was to be maintained at all times

Eventually I became more comfortable with this new world, enough so that I opened my own account. As my FB friends can attest, I am a very prolific user. Long waits in carpool and a smart phone enable me to browse more then I care to admit!

The best thing about Facebook though has been the ability to re-connect with distant friends from childhood, high school and college as well as stay connected to family. Case in point is the inspiration for this next recipe.

My childhood friend Meg and I reconnected through Facebook not to0 long ago. She and I met in elementary school in Trenton, MI. You see, I was born in India and came to the states when I was 2 years old.

I learned to speak English while watching Sesame Street. I learned about “American” families from Meg’s family. I have fond memories of time spent at her home. Meg’s mother was an artist and her father a musician. Her family embraced me and taught me so much – culture, music, western etiquette. So much so that I played the flute and oboe in middle school and high school and minored in Art History in college. I am truly thankful to them for opening their home to me and helping me to assimilate to this ‘new’ culture.

Recently, Meg contacted me and requested a recipe for Egg Curry. I was happy to help out!  A fast weeknight meal, this curry offers a decent amount of protein. Add a side salad and a bit of rice or crusty bread and you have a substantial, delicious and inexpensive meal.

This one’s for you Meg!

 

Masala Egg Curry 

Serves 4

4 hardboiled eggs

3/4 tsp red chili powder (use more or less to taste)

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriannder

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon water

1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

4 ounces chopped yellow onion

1 inch piece of ginger, finely grated

2 cups canned chopped tomato

1.5 to 2 cups water (depending on how thick you like your sauce)

1/2 teaspoon raw sugar, jaggery or honey

salt to taste

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

2-3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Method

1) In a small bowl, combine red chili powder, turmeric, ground cumin, grown coriander. Add lemon juice and water. Stir to mix and set aside.

2) Set eggs to boil.

I like to fill a pot with water and place eggs into it. Make sure that water covers the eggs completely. Bring water to boil and once boiling, remove pot from heat, cover and allow to sit for 12 minutes. Then rinse eggs under cool water and peel.

3) Set rice to cook.

4) Heat a frying pan or sauté pan on medium high heat. Add coconut oil and once hot, add cumin seeds.

5) Once cumin seeds sizzle, add onions and ginger. Stir and sauté until onions are slightly browned at edges.

6.) Now add tomatoes and allow to cook down until you can see oil bubling out along the edges. If mixture gets too dry, add 1-2 spoonfuls of water to prevent scorching.

7) Once tomatoes are cooked down, add spice mixture. Stir and cook for a minute or so. Then add sugar and salt and 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Combine and allow curry to cook 4-5 minutes.

9) Add peas and cilantro. Mix well. Lastly gently nestle the hard boiled eggs into the sauce. Serve hot over rice or along side bread.

Notes:

Getting this meal to the table quickly involves some multi-tasking. I usually have everything ready go before I start. Then I set my eggs to boil and rice to cook before starting the curry. By the time I have finished cooking the tomatoes, it is time to peel the eggs. I like to halve them just before adding to the sauce.

This meal comes together lickety-spilt and is a great addition to any repetoire.

I hope you enjoy the recipe! Please let me know when you make it 🙂

Shruti

In case you were wondering, the title of this post was inspired by this quote:

A good friend is a connection to life — a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.~Lois Wyse