Dimer Dalna
Duck-egg curry with the eggs boiled, fried golden, then cooked in an onion-garlic-ginger-tomato-garam masala sauce.
- Cooking time40 minutes
Calorieskcal
Every part of India has its own iteration of the egg curry. The genius of this version is that it makes use of pan-fried boiled eggs. The boiled eggs, lightly coated in salt and turmeric, are fried in oil till they are golden. The crust makes the gravy adhere to the egg, rather than it just sliding off its smooth surface. This is a hearty, filling curry, best served with a plate of steaming rice.
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DonateIngredients
Serves
4 eggs
- 40 g mustard oil (for frying)
- 20 g mustard oil (for cooking)
- 2 pieces dried red chillies (whole)
- 1 piece bay leaves (whole)
- 2 pieces cardamom (whole)
- 2 pieces cloves (whole)
- 1 piece cinnamon (whole)
- 1 g (or ¼ tsp) cumin seeds
- 4 duck or chicken eggs (boiled)
- 150 g potatoes (diced; 5 cm cubes)
- 100 g onions (thinly sliced)
- 25 g tomatoes (diced)
- 15 g ginger paste
- 2 g garlic paste
- 2 g cumin powder
- 2 g coriander powder
- 4 g turmeric powder (for the curry, plus ¼ tsp for coating the eggs with)
- 1 g red chilli powder
- 10 g salt (for the curry, plus ¼ tsp for coating the eggs with)
- 15 g sugar
- 1 piece green chilli (slit)
Method
I—BOILING AND FRYING THE EGGS
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Lower the eggs (which should be at room temperature; eggs from the refrigerator might crack when added to boiling water) in the water and cook them on low heat for 6 minutes (duck eggs) or 5 minutes (chicken eggs), with the lid on.
- Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for another 3 minutes. We want the yolks gooey.
- Drain the water and remove the shells.
- Prick the eggs all around with a toothpick. This will prevent the eggs from bursting when fried and also allow the gravy to seep to the yolk.
- Coat the eggs in ¼ tsp each of salt and turmeric powder.
- Fry the eggs in 10 g mustard oil on medium heat for 5 minutes, till they develop an even amber-coloured crust.
- Set aside.
PART II—BOILING THE POTATOES
- Peel and cut the potatoes in chunks of 5 cm. We need as many pieces of potatoes as there are eggs (four, in this case).
- Place them in a microwaveable bowl with 6 g of salt and 2 tablespoons of water.
- Cover with cling film and microwave for 3 minutes. Alternatively, you can also boil them on the stove till partially cooked.
- Set aside.
PART III—PREPARING THE CURRY
- Now, heat 20 g mustard oil in a pan.
- Temper the oil with the phoron (dried red chillies, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and cumin seeds).
- Once the whole spices start to crackle in oil, add the chopped onions and sugar to the pan and fry on medium heat for 5–7 minutes.
- Add the ginger paste and minced garlic to the pan, and fry for another 3–4 minutes.
- Make a spice paste by adding 50 g water to the cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and salt.
- Add this mixture to the pan and cook on medium heat till the water dries off.
- Then, add another 50g of water, along with the tomatoes and green chilli, and cook till the water dries off again.
- Add the parboiled potatoes and cook on low heat for 2 minutes.
- Then add the eggs. Cook for another minute. Stop here if you want dim’er kosha, a rich gravy to accompany your fried rice or luchi. For a lighter curry to eat with steamed rice, proceed to the next step.
- Now, add 225 g hot water to the pan. This will form the curry.
- Boil for 5–7 minutes with the lid on before removing from the heat.
