Dim Fulkopi R Rezala

Few days back I posted the story of our new family tradition of making Prawn-pulao every Mahalaya. Now you cannot really eat pulao by itself, even though mysteriously the pulao kept decreasing as I was busy making it’s accompaniment. While I do plan to summon Mr. Holmes to get to the bottom of this mystery, here goes the recipe of egg-cauliflower rezala that I made to go with the pulao.

This rezala goes really well with the pulao because of it’s mild smooth taste. Since the pulao itself has a very distinct flavor, serving it with anything stronger like mutton doesn’t work that well. We also really enjoyed the left over rezala with some laccha paratha.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs boiled and de-shelled
• 2 medium potatoes cut into halves
• 8 medium sized florets of cauliflower
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 2 tbsp. minced ginger
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1tbsp. cashew and raisin paste
• 1/4th cup milk
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. dry spice powder of the following dry roasted spices
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom
• 5 cloves
• 1 tsp. caraway seed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and fry onion, ginger, and garlic for about five minutes on low heat.

Remove from heat and let it come down to room temperature. Now make a paste of all these three ingredient with half a cup of yogurt.

Heat oil in a wok and fry cauliflower florets on medium high heat. Ensure the florets don't change their white color. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve. Fry potatoes and eggs in the same way.

Now in the same oil add dry whole red chilies and pepper corn. When they stop sizzling add onion, ginger, garlic paste to it add fried potatoes and sauté till the raw smell subsides.  If required you may add water during the sautéing process.

When the potatoes are three quarter done add cauliflower florets to it. Sprinkle salt and sugar to your taste. Mix well so that every pieces are well coated with spice mixture.

Add half a cup of water and let it simmer on low heat till both the vegetables are tender. Now goes in the fried boiled eggs along with the cashew and raisin paste. Add quarter cup of milk to it. Let it simmer for a while till it takes a thick gravy consistency.

Turn off the heat. Add one tbsp. ghee along with one tsp. of dry roasted spice powder. Mix once and keep it covered till you serve.

Malabar Egg Curry

 

One of my friends is from coastal Karanataka and this is her signature dish. First time she made it for a large gathering, everyone loved this over mutton keema which goes to say how awesome the malabar curry tasted. This is a slightly modified version of the same malabar curry, the change being that I didn’t use turmeric and red chilli powder, you can always try with those as well.

 

Ingredients

• 4 boiled eggs
• 2 tbsp. onion paste
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 star anise
• 4 dry red chili
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 tsp. ghee
• 2 tbsp. refined oil
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a pan heat oil and lower the temperature to medium. Fry the boiled eggs so that the they take a light brown hue. Don't over fry them. Remove them and keep aside.

Now temper the same oil with star anise and dry red chilies. When you start getting a nice aroma, add the onion paste to it. Fry on low heat for about three to four minutes. Now add ginger garlic paste and keep sautéing them on very low heat till the raw smell goes away.

Now add fried eggs to it and season it with salt and sugar. Add one fourth cup of water and mix them well. Bring it to a boil before you pour the coconut milk to it.

Now let it simmer on low heat for about five minutes. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ghee and curry leaves to it. Give a stir and keep it covered till you serve..

Serve it with laccha parota, jeera rice or peas pulao.. 

Egg Parantha

I make this hearty breakfast for my daughter when she heads out to play, either in the summer sun or on snowy winter days. It is easy to make and at the same time tasty and very filling. An extra dollop of butter over it makes her extra happy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (Atta)
• 1 cup all purpose flour (Maida)
• 5 egg
• 4 tbsp. minced onion
• 2tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tbsp. minced green chilies
• Salt to taste
• Refined oil for frying

Procedure

In a mixing bowl mix two kinds of flour. Add salt to it and mix well. Now break one egg and add to it. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro. Start kneading to make a soft dough. If required you can add water little at a time. Cover the dough and keep aside for half an hour.

Divide the dough into four equal sized balls. Now take dry flour on a rolling surface and roll out each dough ball into a disc of about 10” diameter.

Heat a skillet and transfer the disc on the skillet. Keep he heat mark on low.

Beat one egg with little salt and pour it over the disc. Gently spread the egg evenly all over the disc. Increase the heat mark to medium.  Sprinkle chopped cilantro, ginger, onion and green chilies over it. Now fold the paratha a shown in the picture. Brush oil on the top surface of the paratha and flip it over. Brush oil on the other surface too.

Cook on medium heat till you see brown spots all over the surface of the paratha.

Serve with ketchup or achar.

Dim Posto (Egg in Poppy Seed Paste)

Dim posto is an uncommon bong dish. It’s pretty dry and makes a great lunch with hot steaming rice. I made this with a little twist and added sesame seeds. This is is optional and you can skip and only use poppy seeds.

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 5-6 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp. posto (poppy seed)
• 2 tbsp. til (Sesame seed)
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

Procedure

First dry grind poppy seed and sesame seed in a grinder and make a coarse powder of it. Now make a paste of them with a green chili by adding some water.

Smear the boiled eggs with turmeric powder and salt.

Heat 4 tbsp. mustard oil in a pan and fry the eggs on medium heat till they turn golden yellow. Remove the eggs and keep aside.

Add onion slices and green chilies to the same oil and fry them on medium heat for a minute or two. The onions should retain their crunchiness so don’t over cook them.

Now add the poppy seed and sesame seed paste to it. Add boiled eggs and keep sautéing everything till oil gets separated. Add the seasoning and mix once more.

Drizzle one spoon raw mustard oil to get an extra zing. Serve with plain hot rice.

Diiiiiim

My husband had this egg based dish at an restaurant in Bangalore many years back. Apparently it had boiled eggs, dipped in egg batter, fried and then cooked. It then had grated eggs sprinkled on it. So he named it egggggggggg or dimmmmmm (Bengali for Egg).

Based  on his description (which is flaky at best) I made this. We liked the final product and I think it will make a great starter, especially if you have vegetarian friends who also eat eggs (common variety these days).

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 raw egg
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-3 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 tsp. shredded garlic
• 1 tbp. kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tbsp. maida ( all purpose flour)
• 1 tsp. corn starch or rice flour
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Cut 3 boiled eggs lengthwise in quarters.

In a bowl take maida or corn starch or rice flour, 1 tsp. chopped cilantro, and a pinch of salt. Mix all these dry ingredients together. Now break the raw egg and add to it. Beat well to make a thick batter.

Take oil in a wok and heat it up. Pour 1 tbsp. hot oil in the egg batter and give a nice stir. Now dip each egg quarter into the egg batter and gently slide it in the hot oil. Fry on medium heat for a minute and then remove them on a paper towel.

Take  4-5 tbsp. oil in a pan and sprinkle 1 tsp. garam masala powder to it. Add sliced onions along with sugar and a pinch of salt. This sugar will give the dish a vibrant red color. Fry onion on low heat till they turn soft. now add chopped tomato, ginger and garlic to it. Sprinkle Turmeric and chili powder and mix well. Keep frying the masala on low heat till oil separates out and the spices become mushy. Now add fried eggs along with green chilies and cilantro. Sprinkle salt. Mix well in a gently so that all eggs are well coated with spices. Remove from heat and transfer the content in a serving bowl.

Take the other hard boiled egg and grate it. Garnish your dish with shredded egg and serve.

Chicken Bharta

There is a famous restaurant in Kolkata called Honey-Da-Dhaba. They make this famous Chicken Bharta. I had heard a lot about it but never really got a chance to have it. The good folks at the dhaaba revealed their secret in a cookery show (available here). I followed their steps and loved the outcome, I am not really sure how authentic it is but it was tasty nonetheless. If you have had the good fortune of having the real stuff, do try out this recipe and let me know who well this matches up.

Ingredients

• 1lb. boneless chicken
• 1 big onion finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato finely chopped
• 1tsp. ginger paste
• 1tsp garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. kasuri methi  (dry fenugreek  powder )
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. cream
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 4 tbsp. oil
• 1 hard boiled egg optional
• Whole garam masala (6 cloves, 6 cardamoms, 2 bay leaves)

Procedure:

Heat oil in a wok and temper it with whole garam masala. Let them sizzle. Add chopped onion to it and fry till they turn golden brown.Next to go in are ginger garlic paste and chopped tomato. Fry on low heat till oil oozes out of the spices.

In a bowl mix all dry spice powder with water and add to the spices. Fry till the raw smell goes away. Add boneless chicken pieces to it and mix well with the spices.

Add salt, sugar and cashew paste and yogurt to it. Stir it well. Now drizzle fresh cream and butter over it. Give them a nice mix. Sprinkle kasuri methi over it and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro. Garnish with halved hard boiled eggs and serve.

I served it with palak naan. It goes well with any kind of Indian flat bread.

Nargisi Kofta Curry

Apparently in India a show called Master Chef has become a big deal. Some of my relatives have suddenly become super interesting in cooking and I frequently get calls from them either suggesting something I should be making or asking about some recipes that they have seen in that show. Nargisi Kofta was featured in Master Chef but my aunt couldn’t keep track of the recipe in the fast paced show and asked me to make it. So after some research (we do not get Indian TV channels) this is what I came up with. Nargisi Kofta looked awesome and tasted great as well.

Ingredients For Kofta

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 raw egg
• 300 gm mutton keema
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2” ginger
• 2 large onion finely chopped
• 5 tbsp. besan (Chic-pea flour)
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and grind the following ingredients into a fine powder
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cloves
  • 1/2 leaf mace
  • 3 green cardamom
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 1 tiny piece of nutmeg
  • 10 white pepper corn
  • 1 tsp. shahi jeera
  • 1 tsp. poppy seeds
  • 10 dry rose petal

Procedure Of Making Nargisi Kofta

Boil mutton keema with 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder, salt and bay leaves. Cook till there is no excess moisture left. Allow it to cool.

Fry onion till they turn golden brown. In a grinder take 2tbsp. dry spice powder, fried onion, ginger, garlic along with boiled minced meat and make a coarse paste out of them. If required you may add a spoon of yogurt to make the process easier. Season it with salt and mix well.

Take about an egg sized portion of the meat mixture and wrap it around a whole egg.

Ina bowl beat one egg with a pinch of salt. heat enough oil for deep frying in a wok. Now take each keema coated egg and dip it in the egg batter. Gently slide the egg in the hot oil and fry till the outer shell is crispy and brown. Remove and drain it on paper towel.

Ingredients for gravy

• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 1” ginger
• 5 cloves garlic
• 4 large red tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 1/2 cup fresh cream
• 1/2 tsp. roasted and ground spice powder you made for kofta
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter for cooking
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a pan take butter and heat it on low flame till it melts. Fry onion slices till the edges turn light brown. Now add ginger garlic paste along with cumin and coriander powder. Sauté on low flame till raw smell of the spices goes away.

Add chopped tomatoes and fry on low flame till it turns mushy and you can see oil oozing out of the spices. Add red chili powder and turmeric and fry for few more minutes. Add half a cup of water to it and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes on low flame. Turn off the heat and let it cool down completely.

Once it is cold enough transfer the mixture in a blender and blend it to a puree. Now strain the puree and discard the residue.

Pour the strained spice mixture in a pan and turn the heat on. Add cashew paste, salt and sugar to it and mix thoroughly. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and add fresh cream. Stir it well.

Pour the gravy into serving dish. Cut the koftas lengthwise into halves and arrange it over the gravy as shown in the picture. Sprinkle ground spice powder on top of it and serve.

Egg Salad Club Sandwich

We are avid hikers. One of the challenge of a hike is to pack good food. You want to ensure that you pack something that is easily packable, non-messy, nutritious, tasty and at the same time is rich in good calories. Egg salad sandwich fits that bill perfectly. After a soul crushing hike, eating the sandwich at the top of a mountain with a view as below adds an extra dimension to the whole experience.

Ingredients

1. 3 slices white sandwich bread
2. 3 hard boiled eggs chopped
3. 2tbsp. finely shredded cabbage or lettuce
4. 2 tbsp. grated carrots
5. 1 ripe avocado peeled and mashed
6. 1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
7. 2tbsp. mayonnaise
8. 1tsp. freshly ground black pepper
9. Salt to taste

Procedure

Add chopped egg into a medium mixing bowl. Add mayonnaise, mashed avocado, shredded cabbage, salt and pepper to it.

Combine all the ingredients well using your spoon stirring firmly.

Spread breads on a chopping board. generously soon the mixed egg salad onto one slice of bread. Spread evenly using the back of the spoon. Now cover it up with another slice of bread. Spread the egg salad mixture on the top surface of the second bread. Close the sandwich with the remaining bread slice.

Cut the sandwich diagonally across with a sharp knife.

If you are packing them for lunch, wrap the sandwiches in a cling film or take them in zip locks.

Omelet curry

Omelet curry started out as a quick dinner remedy when I was working. When me and my husband came back from work, we were too tired to cook something and at the same time didn’t want to live off Maggi (instant noodles). We didn’t have much time for preparation either, even boiling egg seemed like eternity.

Over the years, however, it evolved from a quick and easy food to something we really like. It’s no longer quick either since I make pulao with it and really enjoy the whole deal.

Ingredients

1. 4 eggs
2. 2tbsp. onion finely chopped
3. 1tsp. ginger finely chopped
4. 1tsp. green chilies finely chopped
5. 2 medium sized potatoes boiled and cut into quarters
6. 1 small onion thinly sliced
7. 1tsp. ginger paste
8. 1tsp. garlic paste
9. 1 ripe tomato cut into quarters
10. 1tsp. red chili powder
11. 1tsp. turmeric powder
12. 1/2tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
13. 1tsp. coriander leaves chopped
14. 1tsp.sugar
15. Salt to taste
16. 4tbsp. refined oil

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take finely chopped onion, ginger and green chilies. Now break eggs one by one and add to it. Season with salt and beat them well with a fork.

Take 1tsp. oil in a frying pan and heat it up. Pour the egg mixture to it and swirl the pan to spread the egg mixture uniformly. Cook on medium heat till eggs set. Now lift one side of the edge and fold it. Press down lightly with spatula for about 30 seconds and then remove.

Cut the omelets into one inch squares and keep it.

Now in another pan heat rest of the oil and add onion slices to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges turn light brown. Add ginger garlic paste to it followed by turmeric and chili powder. Add boiled potato pieces to it. Fry on low heat for 1 – 2 minute before you add the tomato pieces. Season with salt and sugar.

Sauté everything on low heat till the oil oozes out of the spices. Now add 1/2 cup water to it and mix well. Bring it to a boil before you add omelets pieces to it. Simmer for another 5 minutes till the gravy thickens.

Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and garam masala powder. Serve with rice, pulao or chapatti.

Egg Curry

Last week my daughter carried back some exquisite virus from the local sickness exchange center (also known as school). One by one all of us got knocked down like dominos.

So when I went down, my husband made some egg curry from the crude recipe I blurted out. I was told that the results were pretty good. I cannot really comment as I couldn’t taste or smell anything. However, Shreya our resident expert who is 3 year old and unforgiving in her opinions said that she really liked it.

Since I didn’t really have good egg recipes in my blog, I asked him to take photos all the way. I guess he did a decent job of it, what do you think?

Ingredients

1. 6 hard boiled eggs
2. 8 baby potatoes peeled
3. 1 large onion finely chopped
4. 1 tsp. ginger paste
5. 1tbsp. garlic paste
6. 1 large tomato roughly chopped
7. 1tsp. turmeric powder
8. 1tbsp. kashmiri red chili powder (You can use paprika powder as well)
9. 1 tsp. sugar
10. Salt to taste
11. 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
12. For tempering
    1. 2 bay leaves
    2. Whole garam masala ( Pound it in a mortar and pestle)
       1. 1” cinnamon
       2. 2 green cardamoms
       3. 2 cloves

Procedure

Heat mustard oil in a pan and add boiled eggs. Fry the eggs on high heat. Wait till one side is fried properly before you turn them over. Remove with a slotted spoon when both sides turn brown.

To the oil add bay leaves and bruised whole garam masala. Sauté for a second before you add chopped onion to it. Fry the onions till they are light brown. Now add baby potatoes followed by ginger garlic paste. Fry everything together till you see oil separates out from the gravy.

Add chopped tomato, turmeric and chili powder. Mix well and cook it covered for 4-5 minutes. By this time tomatoes will become mushy. Add salt and sugar to it.

Drop the fried eggs and give a nice mix. Add water depending on the gravy you want and cook it covered till potatoes are tender.

Turn off the heat and add garam masala powder.

French Toast

French toast used to be our default, no-brainer snacks when we were kids. If we came back home with a bunch of friends after an evening game, or if a neighbor made a sudden visit, it was always French toast that saved the day. Very tasty yet, extremely easy to make, I use it even now when my 7 year old monster demands “snaky snaky!!”.

Apparently the French has two variant of this. A sweet version is made with egg, milk, sugar and cinnamon. We however, have their savory version which is made with egg, salt and spices.

Ingredients

1. 2 slices of sandwich breads
2. 2 eggs
3. 1tbsp. finely chopped onion
4. 1tsp. finely chopped green chilies
5. 1/2tsp. chopped ginger
6. 1tsp. chopped cilantro
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Cut bread slices into squares or triangles according to your choice. In a bowl whisk two eggs with salt, onion, ginger, green chili and cilantro.

In a wok heat enough oil for deep frying. Now dunk each pieces of bread into the egg mixture and carefully slide it in the hot oil. Fry till both sides turn light brown.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towel.

Serve hot with some ketchup as an evening snack.

Egg Korma

The surprise birthday party dinner my husband threw for me was all good, but for the egg kurma. I didn’t like it and it left me craving for some great egg korma.

A long long time back my mom had made egg korma for my birthday. I could almost visualize the eggs partially submerged in a creamy, fragrant, silky sauce which had layers of flavors. Mild but still redolent with spices, that korma was the best that I ever had.

After all this craving I decided to go ahead and make myself some of that korma.

Ingredients

1. 5 eggs hardboiled
2. 2tbsp. boiled onion paste
3. 1tsp. ginger garlic paste
4. 1tsp. green chili paste
5. 2tbsp. cashew paste
6. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
7. Mint leave (optional)
8. 1tsp. sugar
9. salt to taste
10. Oil
11. Tempering
    1. 1tsp. whole black pepper corn
    2. 3,4 whole dry red chilies
    3. 2 green cardamom
    4. 2,3 cloves
    5. 1” cinnamon stick

Procedure

Heat oil in a kadai or wok and temper it with all ingredients listed under tempering. When the oil becomes fragrant remove dry chilies and keep it reserved for garnishing. Add onion and ginger garlic paste to it. Fry on low heat till the spices turn light brown and the raw smell goes off.

In a mixing bowl mix yogurt with cashew and green chili paste. Pour the yogurt mixture over the fried spices. Add boiled eggs to it and fry together till each egg is well coated with spices.

Add 1 cup of warm water and crank up the heat. Season with salt and sugar. Simmer till the gravy is thick and oil floats over the surface. Sprinkle 1/2tsp. garam masala powder and dried mint leaves and garnish with fried red chilies.

Serve with luchi, parantha, Biryani or pulao. 

Kolkata Egg Roll

If you have a guy like this close to your home, then count your blessings and skip this post. In case you don’t and this is one of those days when you can do anything to fly across the world and stand in a queue in front of him, then read on :)

Ingredients

For 5 rolls

1. Pack of 5 ready to cook Paratha ( You can make your own parantha as well ). I used
   
2. 5 eggs
3. 1/2  cucumber
4. 1/2 red onions
5. 2 green chilies chopped
6. 1/2 lemon
7. Tomato ketchup
8. 5 tbsp. oil
9. Salt
10. 1 tsp. black salt or beet noon

Procedure

		Folding the roll VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Heat a non stick pan and fry the paranthas on both the sides by using the package direction. Remove and keep them aside.

Make thin slices of onion and cucumber and keep them handy.

Beat eggs one at a time with little salt.

Heat nonstick frying pan with one tsp. of oil. Pour the egg mixture and swirl it. Immediately before the egg sets place a fried parantha on top of it. Press it gently. Lower the heat. Flip it over when the egg is done and cook the other side for a while. Remove and place it on a flat board with the egg side up.

Divide sliced onion, cucumber and green chili in equal portions and line them up in one side of the parantha. Squirt some lemon juice. Squeeze little tomato ketchup over it. Sprinkle a pinch of black salt before you roll it up.

Start rolling from one side and wrap the bottom 1/3 part with grease proof paper to hold.

Your wait is over

Dimer Paturi

One of my mashi is married to a family who is better known in their neighborhood as paturi bari. Ilish (Hilsa) paturi being the most famous, they make paturi with shrimp, egg and even with dal. Paturi is the process of cooking fish in mustard sauce inside a banana or plantain leaf wrap.

I am not a connoisseur of ilish, so whenever I visited my mashi she used make either egg paturi or shrimp paturi for me.

This time when I got a big packet of banana leaf at Indian store I picked it up without even giving a second thought. My initial plan was to make shrimp paturi. However, I thought I’d make it with eggs so that my eggeterian friends could also enjoy it.

Ingredients

1. 4 hard boiled eggs
2. 2 medium sized potato boiled and peeled
3. 1 medium red onion sliced
4. 1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
5. 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
6. 1 clove garlic
7. 4,5 hot green chilies
8. Few cilantro chopped 
9. 2,3 tbsp. mustard oil
10. Salt to taste

Procedure

First the marinade has to be made. Make a wet paste of mustard seeds with 2 green chilies and garlic. Add a tsp. of turmeric powder to it.

Now remove the shell of the boiled eggs  and cut them into quarters.

In a separate plate take the boiled potatoes and mash them. To it add sliced onions, cilantro and the pieces of eggs.

Pour the marinade over it along with some salt.  Mix them gently using hands instead of spoons. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

By this time season the banana leaf for wrapping. Wash it under running water and wipe it dry.

Now turn the heat on and just swipe it over the heating coil or the flame. This will make the banana leaf more pliable so that it won’t tear when you try to fold it.

Alternatively you can dip the leaves under hot water to make them soft.

Now take two rectangular piece of banana leaf and place he marinated egg in the center of it. Fold the sides by overlapping each other to make a packet and secure them by tying with your kitchen twine. I used my quilting thread to tie them up.

Arrange the packets on a frying pan and allow them to cook covered on low heat till the outer leaf of the packet turns brown. Turn it over and allow it to cook the other side as well. Alternative you can arrange the packets in a microwavable dish and microwave it for high power for 10 minutes.

Remove and snip off the thread. You may drizzle some extra mustard oil over it. 

Enjoy with hot rice.

Dimer Devil

Dimer devil or deviled egg is boiled egg coated by spicy minced meat. I have no idea what it’s association with devil is, but I can promise you’ll think more about heaven than hell when you have it.

This is commonly sold in road side shacks in Kolkata and also in college cafeterias. My boyfriend used to get it for me from his college’s café when he came to pick me up after classes. I still remember those days of munching on the devils while going back home in the Kolkata metro rail.

Ingredients

1. 6 hard boiled eggs cut into halves lengthwise 
2. 250 gm minced meat (keema). This is optional. 
3. 2 medium sized potatoes boiled
4. 1 medium onion finely chopped
5. 1 inch ginger finely minced + 1/2 tsp. ginger paste 
6. 1 tbsp. grated garlic + 1/2 tsp. garlic paste 
7. 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
8. 1 tsp. raisins 
9. 1/2 tsp. bengali garam masala powder
10. 1/2 tsp. bhaja masala (dry roast and coarsely grind whole cumin, coriander and dry red chilly)
11. 1tsp. sugar
12. Salt to taste
13. 3-4 tbsp. maida (AP flour)
14. 3-4 tbsp. cornstarch
15. Enough bread crumb
16. Oil for deep frying

NOTE: I make this with and without minced meat, based on whom I’m making this for. I have a bunch of vegetarian friends who have taken up eating eggs but nothing beyond that. For them you need to substitute the meat with equal amount of boiled mashed potato. Everything else remains the same.

Procedure

Step 1: Stuffing

In a mixing bowl mix minced meat with ginger garlic paste, salt and sugar. Cook it on a medium heat till all moisture dries up. Let it cool.

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a frying pan and sauté chopped onion, ginger and garlic on low heat for about 2 minutes. The taste will go bad if you fry it on a high heat for long.

In a separate mixing bowl mash boiled potatoes with fried masala, green chilies, garam masala powder and bhaja masala with your hand. Mix cooked meat with it and taste the seasoning. Add salt and sugar to taste. Your stuffing is ready to be used.

Step 2

Take each half of the eggs and place one raisins in  the center of the yolk. Press down with your finger tip to secure it in place.

Now take a part of the meat mixture on your palm and flatten it with the other hand. Put the halved egg in the center of it. Place the yolk side down. Cover it up with the meat mixture by closing your fist.

Using both your palms smoothen the surface and try to give it a natural oval  shape of an egg.

Step 3

In a bowl mix maida and corn starch uniformly. Gradually add water to make a thin batter. Take enough bread crumb on a plate.

Dip each of the deviled egg in the batter and  roll them on the bread crumb. Repeat the process. Dust off any extra bread crumb. You can refrigerate them and fry just before serving.

Heat enough oil for deep frying in a wok or kadai. Gently slide the deviled eggs one or two at a time in the hot oil and fry till all sides turn brown. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Sprinkle black salt over it and serve with some onion slices.

Egg Biriyani

I make many different types of biriyani’s. Chicken, Mutton and even vegetarian using recipes from Hyderabad, Kolkata and Awadh. I always think that over time I’ll learn and cook even more disparate types of Biriyanis. However, I never actually thought that I’d cook Biriyani just with eggs and that it’d turn out to be so yummy.

It all started with my friend Laxmi visiting my home the day I made some chicken Biriyani. I served it to her son, and he loved it. However, Laxmi being a eggiterian had to miss out. So she insisted I make egg biryani the next time. Apprehensive that my hardcore non-veg daughter and husband would sneer and not have it, I made enough just for couple of people.

Oh how wrong these assumptions turned out to be. The biriyani came out really well and I just gave couple of spoons to my daughter and husband. They gobbled it up in minutes and started cribbing big time on how little I made.

Ingredients

1. 250 gm. basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 30 mins
2. 6 hard boiled eggs
3. 10 - 12 baby potatoes half boiled and peeled
4. 1 medium onion thinly sliced
5. 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
6. 4 - 5 tbsp. plain yogurt / curd
7. Few strands of saffron soaked in warm milk
8. Few strands of coriander leaves
9. 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder (Make your own)
10. Salt
11. Sugar
12. Turmeric powder
13. 5 - 6 tbsp. of canola / sunflower oil
14. 1 tbsp. ghee / clarified butter
15. Whole garam masala
1. 1” cinnamon stick
2. 2 green cardamom
3. 5-6 cloves

Procedure

In a pan boil water. Once water starts boiling add salt to it and stir well. Now add rice and turn off the heat. Keep it covered for 5 mins. Drain the water and spread rice on a flat dish or tray.

Heat oil in a kadai/wok and deep fry onion slices till they are brown and crispy. Don't char them. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Smear boiled eggs and potatoes with salt and turmeric powder. Deep fry the eggs and potatoes in the same oil till they turn nice golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

Temper the oil with whole garam masala. When the oil starts releasing the fragrance of the masala, add ginger+garlic paste and sauté till their raw smell goes away. You can add little water to prevent burning. 

Add half of the fried onions to it along with curd. Now gently add fried eggs and potatoes to it. Sprinkle garam masala powder. Season with salt, sugar and fry the masala till oil separates out.

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan and add rice to it. Next add egg and potato masala you made just before this. Pour about 350 ml. of water to it and mix  well. While mixing you need to be a bit careful so the eggs don't break. Taste and adjust salt and sugar. 

Cover and cook on medium heat till rice is done. Fluff it with a fork and add saffron milk.

Garnish with crispy fried onions, coriander greens and serve hot.