When I first started cooking Indian food, I cooked quite a few recipes from Aayi’s Recipes and they always turned out yummy. This South Indian style egg curry using homemade sambar powder and tamarind was so delicious and I’ve been meaning to make it again ever since I started blogging.
I doubled the recipe and used less fenugreek since I find it can be bitter if you use too much. One other thing is I cooked the sambar powder ingredients all together rather than doing some in oil and some dry. I think it turned out okay, but I haven’t tried the original way. Trying to save a step on a weeknight!
Sambar Powder
1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons urad dal
2 teaspoons chana dal
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons desicated coconut
7-8 dried red chilis
2 teaspoons coriander powder (whole would work too)
Tamarind Egg Curry
6 eggs
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon chana dal
7-8 curry leaves
2 onions chopped
3 garlic chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons natural tamarind paste
Sambar powder
2 cups water
- Make the sambar powder: Heat oil in a skillet and toast the urad dal, chana dal, mustard and fenugreek seeds until hey start to brown. Add the coconut and cook until it browns a little, then add the red chilis and coriander powder. If you’re using coriander seeds, you can add them in the beginning. The coconut, red chilis, and coriander powder cook faster, which is why I add them later. Grind in a coffee grinder.
- Boil eggs. I usually bring eggs and cold water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Then rinse in cold water and peel. Slice in half.
- Heat oil in a skillet and toast the urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds until the mustard seeds pop and the dals are golden brown. Add the curry leaves for a few seconds. Add the onions and cook until brown and translucent, adding the garlic part way through cooking.
- Add the tamarind paste, sambar powder and water and cook until the sauce thickens. Then add in your eggs and enjoy!