Egg Drop Curry/Poached Egg Gravy/Udaitha Muttai Kuzhambu

Muttai Kuzhambu is one of my favourite curries. Its been a while since i posted any egg recipes so here comes my first egg gravy. I said so ’coz i have many versions which i decide upon time and mood constraints.
Also have to consider M who doesn’t like eggs in any other form other than omelettes and boiled not even scrambled!!!!So when he is out of station, I try all varieties of egg other than dropping boiled ones in gravy. Anyway i don’t have any family recipes for eggs as our family doesn’t eat eggs. So all egg recipes i know are passed to me by my friends or friends’ moms or developed by me(!)yeah..i mean getting basic ideas by surfing and then adding my own inputs to suit our palates’. This one was passed to me by a roomie when i was working . Though it requires some preparation (considering my laziness.. this is a lengthy process!) the taste is worth every bit.It can be served with white rice and papad.

Ingredients:

Eggs-3

Onion-2 medium, chopped

Tomato-1 medium, chopped

Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp

Coriander powder-1 tsp

Tamarind-Lemon sized soaked in half a cup of water.

Salt-as needed

Coriander leaves- to garnish

To Grind 1:Green paste

Garlic-4 pods

Ginger- 1 inch piece

Green chillies-2

Coriander leaves-3 stalks

Mint leaves- a fistful

Do not add water while grinding.

To Grind 2:Coconut Paste

Onion-1 medium, roughly chopped

Tomato-1 medium, roughly chopped

Channa dal-1 tsp

Red chilies (long)-2

Fennel seeds-1 tsp

Coconut-1/4 cup+ 2 tbsp

In a kadai, add a tsp of oil and roast the given ingredients and cook until the tomato gets cooked and mashes. Cool and grind them to a smooth paste.

To Temper:

Mustard seeds- 1tsp

Urad dal-1 tsp

Cinnamon-1 inch piece

Cardamom-2 pods

Cloves-3

Bay leaf-1

Oil- 4 tbsp

How it Happened:

1. Chop onions and tomatoes. Peel the skin off from garlic and ginger. Extract the tamarind pulp.

2. Heat oil in a kadai, add the ingredients given under the ‘to temper’ list. When they pop, add the onions.

3. When the onions turn translucent, add the tomato and cook until they become mushy.

4. Now add the green paste and cook in simmer until the oil comes out.

5. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Cook until the raw smell goes off.

6. Add the tamarind extract and ¼ cup of water and cook in medium flame for 5-7 minutes.

7. When the mixture starts boiling, add the coconut paste and cook for another 5 minutes in medium flame. Let it boil for a couple of minutes.

8. Simmer the flame and add each egg carefully and slowly. Do not stir/disturb the curry after adding the eggs.

9. Continue to cook covered in simmer for 5-10 minutes until the eggs are completely cooked. i.e., the eggs should become firm.

10. Switch off the flame, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

Notes:

*The curry has green chillies, red chillies and red chilli powder. So adjust the quantity accordingly. My green chillies weren’t that spicy hence i added 2 pieces for flavour.

*Keep stirring after adding the coconut paste as they get stuck to the kadai base.

* Do not disturb the curry after adding the eggs, else the eggs may collapse and get dissolved in the curry leaving a curdled curry.

*Break one egg at a time and pour it in a cup and then slowly drop the egg into the curry. This way you get better control over dropping it and also can check on the quality of the eggs.