COCONUT EGG CURRY WITH RAS EL HANOUT

Boiled eggs in a creamy coconut curry base, lightly flavored with a North African spice blend, Ras El Hanout.

I’m sure everyone says this, “Oh, the women in my family are just fabulous cooks!”. Well guess what, so am I, and they really are! I don’t remember the last time I have eaten something they made and not wanted the recipe so I can recreate it at home once again.

My Aunt on my Mom’s side is no exception to this rule. My Aunt is from Kerala, a Southern region of India known for it spices & absolutely delicious cuisine. My Aunt is also a fabulously amazing cook, who loves to cook as well! When I was visiting her last year she found out that I absolutely adore egg curry and made me a Kerala Style curry with hot appams that was, to say the least, completely out of this world!

When I got back home and decided to make myself some egg curry I was eager to try and recreate it in this style. Boiled eggs in a creamy coconut curry base, lightly flavored with spices, but with a twist. I decided to add in a North African spice blend instead of an Indian spice mix. And the results were amazing. The creamy coconut base held up well to the robust spices in the blend and the eggs absorbed this and paired perfectly with everything.

So here’s my take on my Aunt’s delicious Kerala Style Egg Curry!

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled & peeled eggs

• 1 large onion, diced

• 1 medium carrot, cut in medallions

• 3 green chilies, slit lengthwise (optional)

• 1" ginger, grated

• 3 garlic cloves, grated

• 5 - 6 curry leaves (optional)

• 1 1/2 tomato, finely chopped

• 3/4 - 1 teaspoons Ras El Hanout

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)

• 1 cup thick coconut milk or coconut cream

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil

• 1 teaspoon jaggery or brown sugar

• salt to taste

• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Boil and peel eggs and make tiny shallow slits on the surface and set aside. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the mustard & cumin seeds and allow them to splutter. Add the slit green chilies and sauté for a few seconds.

Add in the onions, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, or until the onion turns translucent and the ginger & garlic don’t have a raw smell any more.

Add in the carrots and sauté for about 2 minutes or until the carrots are barely starting to soften.

Add the tomatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and are soft & jammy.

Add in the Ras El Hanout, and if using, the cumin powder and sauté for a few seconds, until fragrant. Add in salt, coconut milk, water and cook on low flame for about 7- 8 minutes.

Half way through, stir to make sure that the coconut milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and add in the jaggery or brown sugar.

Add in the eggs and cook for about 1 - 2 minutes, just until the eggs start to take on some of the color in the curry.

Garnish with the chopped cilantro & serve hot with rice, quinoa, flaky Kerala parathas, or appams.

Extra Tips

To get those perfectly smooth boiled eggs, it’s best to use older eggs. I also make a tiny little hole at the base of the egg (the part of the egg that’s a little more rounded). And as soon as the eggs are done dunk them in a bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes to make sure they cool down immediately and don’t continue cooking.

If you want your curry to be smooth you can use onion paste & crushed tomatoes instead.

The carrots can be left out completely or replaced with another quick cooking vegetable. But I suggest leaving them in as they add some sweetness to the dish.

You can easily replace the eggs for any other meat. Just add it in right after adding in the spices and increase the amount of water to make sure that the meat cooks well and absorbs all the spices.