Punjabi Egg Curry - boiled eggs in creamy tomato gravy

Winters are crawling towards us and days have started getting darker and shorter. I don’t exactly hate ithis time as some people would say, but I particularly don’t like it for the fact that it limits my opportunities to peruse my hobbies. Like it has got difficult to go to my dance practise on weekdays after office hours now since its dark and streets are all empty. And how ever much I consider myself fearless, I still don’t like the fact that I am roaming alone on isolated streets on my own in the dark. Moreover, I hate the fact that I can’t cook and take pictures on weekdays now. So there goes my weekends’ free time which I will now be spending trying to juggle between normal cooking + blog cooking, taking photos and then processing them. You would ask what’s the difference between normal cooking and cooking for blog. Ohh well ! only a blogger would know J

So coming back to winters !! The things I like about winters is the feeling when I am tucked in my warm quilt with a glassful of hot milk ( read: with loads of Horlicks ) and reading a book.  I absolutely miss this cosy feeling in summers. And then at  times I also like to sit near the window and watch snowfall, exactly the way as they show in rom-coms. I also sometimes wrap myself in red  scarf and gloves just to get the same dreamy emotions from within, but then that’s our little secret... so shhh!! And yes, I also like winters since I get to eat a lot of eggs. I don’t eat that many eggs in summers since it produces a lot of heat in my body which makes me sweat like a dog. While in winters, it helps me keeping warm. So yes, I love winters for the stupid reasons I stated above :) 

Coming to eggs, I love experimenting with various types of Egg curries. I already have posted one of them which is Kashmiri style Egg curry being made with lots of tomatoes and is very tangy. In comparison to that, the one I am posting today is a bit milder and smoother. Its like the real curry which is adopted from Punjabi cuisine, although not all the spices are being used in it. Which in turn makes it an easier recipe to adopt and follow. I have even experimented with this dish, keeping the base recipe same and it has never left me disappointed. You may use the same gravy as a base for Paneer dishes as well, or potatoes and it will be equally relished.

I have adopted this recipe from a restaurant ( basically, road side Delhi  dhaba ) where we used to dine a lot during our college days. That guy used to fry the boiled eggs and then use in this dish, but I never fry the eggs for this. The first reason of course is the health concern, and the second is I like the smoothness of the boiled eggs. Moreover, if  you fry the eggs, the actual flavours of the gravy don’t get incorporated  with the egg and it tastes kind of detached from the gravy, if you know what I mean. In fact, to get more flavours inside the eggs, I usually prickle it with a knife and then let it stay in the gravy for longer which brings in the best flavours as a whole.

Towards the end of this post,  I have given some variations on the recipe along with some tips. I suggest to refer them before  starting with the recipe 

Recipe source- Self made

Serves- 3-4 people

  

What  you need?

• 6 eggs, hard boiled  ( refer notes* for the method )
• 3 large tomatoes, pureed  
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 inch piece of Ginger, grated or minced
• ½ cup cream  - optional, refer notes *
• 2-3 cardamom pieces - gently pounded 
• 1 tsp Salt – adjust to taste
• 1 tsp red chili powder- adjust to taste
• ½ tsp turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder each
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves ( Kasuri methi )
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp butter – optional
• ¼ cup fresh coriander leaves – chopped and rinsed 

How to make?

• Peel eggs and prickle them with knife or skewer from 4-5 places. The cuts should not be too deep and wide but just 4-5 cuts ½ cm each on one egg would do. Keep them aside, covered in a bowl else they will start stinking soon.
• Heat oil in a pan, throw in cardamom pieces and fy for 10 seconds. 
• Add garlic, ginger at first and sauté it for  a minute. Add chopped  onion and fry it  well for good 5-6 minutes
• Once the onion start getting golden brown, turn off the flame and transfer the mixture to a blender. Once it’s all cooled off, blend it to a paste and then transfer it back to the same pan. DO NOT blend it when it’s still hot, give it at least 8-10 minutes to get cooled down. You may meanwhile, chop the tomatoes or peel eggs.

• Now, after you have transferred the paste into the pan, add pureed tomatoes along with all the spices, EXCEPT Garam Masala. And cook everything for next 8-10 minutes. It will all turn dark red at the end and a bit dry.
• Add 1/2 cup of water, and let it come to boil, and then turn the flame to low.
• Once it’s all done, add cream and eggs and leave it to simmer for next 10-12 minutes. Do take care to cover it throughout this time and just fold the eggs 2-3 times in between for even coating.
• Towards the end, add garam masala and dried fenugreek leaves ( kasuri methi ) and simmer it further for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the flame and let it sit covered for next 5-8 minutes before serving it finally with coriander leaves as a  garnish

My Notes and some variations:

• How to get perfect hard boiled eggs each time? – My friend told me this fool proof method, which has always worked and has never left me disappointed, here it goes :- Place eggs in a sauce pan, and immerse eggs into it. The eggs should be in water till 3/4 of the height. Turn on the flame, and heat the pan on medium gas till the water comes to rolling boil. This will take approximately 10-12 minutes. Turn it off and keep it covered for next 15-20 minutes. Take the eggs out and peel to get perfectly hard boiled eggs. 

• You may want to decrease the quantity of  tomatoes in the gravy, depending on your taste.
• If you don’t want to use cream in this recipe, you may replace it with full fat milk. In that case, mix 1 tbsp of corn flour with ½ cup of milk and mix it well. Then use it in place of cream in the recipe. This will yield in almost the same richness, but with fewer calories.  I love cream though :D
• Sometimes I add 1/2 cup of spinach puree into the gravy just before adding cream which gives this curry a healthier twist and wonderful colour and taste. If you wish to try this version, do add 1/2 tsp of sugar with cream and then cook s usual. 
• As shown in the photos, I have used chopped spring onions to garnish instead of coriander leaves. Thats another variation you might be interested to use, which compliments the taste and texture of this dish very well.