Steamed Eggs Curry

Eggs are one of the easiest protein rich ingredients to cook. There are many ways to cook eggs and similarly there are numerous ways to prepare a side dish with eggs. Egg curry is go to side dish when there is no non-veg at home. There are many ways to cook egg curries; dry curry, gravy curry or a tangy gravy. Today, for Cooking Carnival - Cooking with Protein Rich Ingredients, I have a unique egg curry.

Steamed egg curry is something I tasted when I was a child. One of my grand aunts use to make it and later even mom made it but not very often. I vaguely remember my grand aunt carefully making a small hole at the narrow end of the egg shell, pouring the egg (white & yolk) into a bowl, seasoning it with spices and then refilling the egg shell. She used the tiny broken shell to close the egg shell opening. I do not remember how she managed to boil these eggs though. As a kid, it was a delight and a treat to eat spicy boiled/steamed eggs in a curry.

My plan for today was another recipe which I shall post tomorrow. I did not have all the ingredients for that recipe and as it was raining on and off all day yesterday, I did not feel like stepping out to buy just one ingredient. And I had not yet decided on the 3rd recipe for this week. Considering what all I had on hand and as it was getting dark out side, I decided to experiment with this curry and take quick pictures before it got dark. Though my grand aunt usually filled the egg shell and steamed/boiled the eggs, later on everyone started steaming the egg mixture in an airtight container, in pressure cooker. Since I don’t have a small container with a tight lid to put in a pressure cooker, I steamed it in a pot. I used a 6 ½” cake pan, placed it in a steamer and steamed the eggs mixture.

I liked the curry a lot and even Mr U liked it. However, the curry was a bit mild to our taste. But for the milder curry, egg cubes were well seasoned and tasted great. This is a nice variation to regular egg curry. I made the curry dry but one can make a gravy as well. Also, for gravy curry, can add some masala of choice; such as poppy seeds, cashew paste, coconut powder.

Cooking Time: 20 - 25 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Steaming

4 Eggs
4 tablespoon or ¼ cup Milk
¾ tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
½ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
½ tsp. Coriander Powder
Oil to grease a cake pan or steel box for steaming

Curry

2 tbsp. Oil
1 cup chopped Onion
2 Green Chilies chopped
1 tbsp. Ginger Garlic Paste
1 Scallion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. Coriander Powder
½ tsp. Chili Powder (It was mild to my taste. Adjust to taste)
¼ - ½ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste and mind you steamed egg is seasoned)
¼ Turmeric Powder
1 medium sized Tomato, chopped or ¾ - 1 cup chopped tomatoes
Steamed Egg Cubes
Cilantro ~ Kothmir ~ Coriander Leaves, chopped

Preparation:

Steaming Eggs - Take 1 ½ - 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to boil.
Grease a 6 ½” cake pan or a steel box for steaming.
Take milk, chili powder, salt and coriander powder in a bowl. Can add turmeric as well but I forgot to add. Whisk lightly to combine.
Add egg and whisk until spices blend in and egg mixture is light and fluffy.
Pour mixture in a greased pan.
Insert a steamed in boiling water and place the egg mixture pan in the steamer.
Cover and steam for 5 - 6 minutes on medium high flame. When a knife inserted should come clean.
Remove the pan from boiling water and let cool for few minutes.
Run a knife around the pan and turn it onto a plate. I had some difficult removing the steamed egg cake from the pan. Using my fingers, I loosened the bottom of the cake and then transfer to plate.
After transferring it to a plate, cut into cubes.
Curry - Heat oil in a pan.
Saute onions until soft.
Add green chilies and ginger garlic paste. Saute until ginger is fried.
Add scallions, coriander powder, chili powder, salt, turmeric and mix.
Add tomato, mix, cover and cook until soft.
Add egg cubes and mix to coat the spices.
Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium low flame stirring once or twice.
Remove the cover and cook for few minutes until curry is done.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti.

Note:

Steaming - I steamed the eggs in saucepan. I have not tried steaming in a pressure cooker. I don’t have a small pan or a steel container with a lid in which I could pressure cook. Hence steamed the eggs in a saucepan. If pressure cooking, cover egg mixture pan/container with a tight lid and then steam it. I came across various online recipes which called for various cooking times. I have tried either of these.
- Pressure cooking for 3 - 4 whistles
- Pressure cooking for 10 - 15 minutes without a whistle
Curry - The recipe I mentioned was mild to my taste. Egg cubes were well seasoned but curry was a bit bland to my taste. Adjust chili powder and salt to taste. Also, I missed garam masala in the curry. Can add a pinch of garam masala or some roasted coriander powder before turning off the heat. Also, add more onions for curry.

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