Mangalore had introduced me to a wide range of regional cuisines. I can still recall my neighbor asking my mom whether or not we had our lunch and if not, she used to rush back to her house and come back with amazing curries. She happened to use vinegar in almost all her curries and that bit of sourness in the curry made it stand out, specially the fish curry. My mom used to make the same curry, but she used tamarind water instead of the vinegar. They both tasted great. The dish is called ‘Puli Munchi’ in Mangalore; ‘Puli’ is Tamarid and ‘Munchi’ is Chili. So it’s basically a hot and sour dish.
I asked Ajay what he wanted for lunch and he said ‘Egg Curry’. So I decided to make the egg curry inspired by ‘Puli Munchi’. I realized that he would find it a little hot, so planned to make it Sour, Hot & Sweet. These three things go very well together. The original Recipe what my mom used to make is using dry red chilies and tamarind blended into a paste, for the gravy. But I used red chili powder instead. And also replaced the tamarind with white vinegar. So how would I get a thick gravy? That’s why I used the Cornflour. The curry turned out great. It’s not exactly what my mom or my neighbor used to make… But definitely inspired by it.
Ingredients:
- 6 Eggs boiled and cut into half
- 2 tbsp. Oil
- 2 medium Onions Sliced
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 1tbsp. Cornflour
- 1¼ tsp. Chilli Powder
- 1½ tsp. Sugar
- ¼ cup Vinegar
- 2 cups Water
Method:
- Heat Oil in a Pan.
- Add the Cinnamon and Star Anise and sauté for half a minute.
- Add the Onions and the Sugar and cook until the Onions caramelize.
- Add the Ginger Garlic Paste, Red Chilli powder and Salt and cook for a minute.
- Then add the Vinegar and 2 cups of water.
- Dissolve the Cornflour with 4 tbsp. of water and add it into the Curry (This will help give a texture to the curry).
- Cook it in low flame for 5 minutes and then add the Eggs.
- Mix well and cook further for 5 minutes.
The Saffron Chronicles 