Egg-stra special

To many households, an egg is just an egg. Good for a sandwich, necessary for baking, and handy for the old egg wash or two. To me, an egg is more, so much more. As I stated in one of my first ever posts, it is hailed as one of my top five ingredients, and to me is one of the most versatile products. After a disappointing search in my freezer and store cupboard for a 'main event' in tonight's dinner, I suddenly thought I'd make an old favourite; one of those dishes that's like turkey at christmas (a good turkey, that is), and makes you wonder why you eat it so rarely when it tastes so good. On tonight's menu-  Egg curry with sweet pepper, coconut and lemongrass. A bit of a mouthful? You bet.

Now even though this is quite a common dish in most Asian households, I'm not sure whether many others would know of this great tasting sensation. Don't be fooled people, Egg curries are fantastic. As the eggs themselves retain their shape and do not expel any particular flavour, the curry itself can be comprised of any combination of ingredients you like. I particularly love lemongrass, coconut and sweet peppers, so have opted to make my Egg curry with this base but honestly, you could accent your curry with tomato, bird chilli, coriander, anything.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1. 4 hard boiled eggs

2. 1 medium sized onion

3. 1 tsp cumin seeds

4. 1 tsp fennel seeds

5. 1 tsp dill seeds

6. 1 clove garlic

7. 1/2 inch ginger

8. 1 stick lemongrass

9. 1/2 sweet pepper

10. 1 tomato

11. 1 cup water

12. 1 tsp coriander powder

13. 1 tsp cayenne powder

14. 1 tsp curry powder

15. 1 tsp cinnamon powder

16. 1 tbsp tomato paste

17. 1 tbsp coconut milk

Steps

1. Fry ingredients 2-9 in some vegetable oil.

2. When these are golden, add the chopped tomato and cup of water. 

3. Then add items 12-16.

4. Once the sauce has reduced, and you are left with a thick consistency, add the coconut milk.

5. Remove from the heat.

6. At this point you can add your eggs, or if you can spare another 3mins, pan fry the eggs in a bit of oil with a pinch of turmeric and cumin seeds. This will crispen the outside and add another fantastic flavour layer.

Get some rice cooked or naan heated and get to eating. Alternatively, smash up the eggs and you've got yourself a very tasty filler. Now, that's what I call an egg sandwich.