Spicy Egg Fry

Spicy Egg Fry is my grandmom's sisters recipe. I remember eating this as a child when we were invited to her place for a lunch invitation. Assuming that we all are egg eaters (my parents are pure vegetarians) she lovingly made this for us. At that time, I had just begun eating eggs upon my doctor's advise. The egg used to be cooked under strict supervision with separate assigned utensils which otherwise never saw dawn of the day for months together. Even to date, the utensil used to cook is kept in separate corner where only the person who cooks the egg would be asked to do the honors (which is a very rare unheard case). So, when I'd asked Mom to make this dish, I got a sound full hearing and the rest was history.

Today, I realise how she must have felt especially knowing her penchant to feed me the best foods in the world! Yeah, she is one of the rare kinds who likes to cook for me. Even when she hated the whole process of buying, cooking and serving eggs - she did it just for me. Gladly, many years later Mom remembered this recipe and narrated to me the nuts and bolts and I recreated the flavour in my solo apt kitchen.

~ Spicy Egg Fry ~
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
Eggs (hard-boiled) - 4
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt
Ghee/Oil

Method:

Hard boil eggs with little salt and run cold water over them once cooked. Peel off the shell and halve them, poke tiny slits with a knife on the eggs and set aside. In a frying pan, heat up ghee/oil, ensure the bottom gets evenly coated with fat medium of choice. Turn the flame to low, add all the spice powders and coriander leaves, give a good stir. Place the flat side of egg facing the pan one by one. Sear them one of one for 3-4 minutes. Flip them over and repeat. The eggs will get a thin crispy crust by now. Adjust salt if required. Once done, serve hot as a snack or a side dish.

Kundapur Chicken Curry (Kori Rotti) - 2.0

I had earlier blogged about Kundapur Chicken Curry which was an elaborate version. It is also known as Koli Saaru in some regions owing to its soupy broth since its supplemented by addition of thick coconut milk. Some also address it as Chicken Kundapuri/ Koli Kajipu. Recently, I have worked on making a simpler version of this recipe in order to save time and effort. The results were great and we both liked it. My husband is an ardent Chicken fan and he can eat this curry and savour the flavour for days together. I like to sample and slurp the gravy, thought I must confess I am biased to my vegetables and greens. :)

Few tricks which I incorporated is instead of using Tomato puree, I used Red Tomato paste which is easily available is grocery stores. The Tomato paste is very concentrated and adds a nice tangy bite with the red alluring color. I got my stash of Kundapur Chicken/ Kori Rotti masala from Mangalore as a generous gift from a dear one; if not available use any store bought chicken masala which is bright red and has red chillies as its primary ingredient. Else, you could use the Masala recipe which I had posted earlier. I also used Chicken-on-bone which is the thigh meat and once cooked shredded it in curry broth. To enjoy the curry with all the fiery red hot taste and flavour, I made it ahead of time and let the curry rest. The next day around, the curry taste divine. :)

Konkani Foodie also completes 300 posts with this recipe! All and this for love of good home made food! Thanks to all my readers for making this journey special & for the love which is overwhelming and much appreciated! :)

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
Chicken (thigh meat on the bone) - 1 pound or 1/2 kg
Kundapur Chicken Masala - 1 cup ground paste or 3 tablespoon masala powder
Onions (sliced) - 1 cup
Tomato paste - 3 oz. ~ approx 90 gms diluted in 1/2 cup warm water
Ginger paste - 2 tablespoon
Garlic paste - 2 tablespoon
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs ~ approx. 10-12 leaves
Ghee
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Red Chili powder - 1 tablespoon or as per taste
Coconut Milk (thick) - 2 cups

Rotti - 8 servings
Garnish (optional) - Coriander leaves which is finely chopped

Method:
1. Chicken - Clean the Chicken thighs and trim the skin if any, remove excess fat. Wash and pat dry. If frozen, thaw the meat and clean with multiple wash and pat dry. Poke deep gashes in the chicken, season with little salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and keep aside.
2. Kundapur Chicken Masala - Get the Kundapur Chicken Masala ready (grind the paste if making from scratch), extract thick Coconut milk and keep aside.
3. Chicken Broth - In a deep bottomed dish (preferably use a stainless steel non-reactive vessel or a stoneware) heat ghee and ensure it coats the bottom of the vessel. Add the Onions and sweat the till they turn translucent and mushy. Lower the flame, once cooked, add Chicken Kundapur Masala, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and 1/2 cup of water. Give a gentle mix, add the Tomato paste diluted in warm water. Add the marinated Chicken pieces and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer on low flame covered till the chicken gets cooked. This process takes around 20 minutes.
4. Finale - Check if the chicken is fork tender now; if yes, pick each of the thigh piece and shred the meat with a steak knife and transfer back to the curry. Add the coconut milk now, adjust salt and cook for few minutes (3-5 minutes). Turn off flame, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and let the curry rest for at least an hour before serving.
5. Plating - Take a generous helping of Rotti in a plate, add the curry on top. Mix well and chomp chomp! Enjoy the delicious Kundapur Chicken curry.

Step by Step Illustration: How to eat - Kori Rotti
1. Choose best quality Silk Rotti for great taste. These are available in bakeries and select specialty stores in India and abroad.


2. Plate the Rotti and crush lightly.

3. Pour the curry and mix well and enjoy!

5 Vegetable Alphabet Soup

5 Vegetable Soup is a soup which Mom frequently made for brunch when we were tiny tots. I simply loved the concept of Soups, so Mom found it easy to trick me into this by adding all vegetables which are finely chopped along with Alphabet pasta which is incidentally also quite popular soup amongst tiny tots in US. She added all colorful vegetables and each spoonful used to be full of proliferated Pasta alphabets. We all had a fun time guessing the letters and of course eating them! Even after growing up, on a rainy day I used to request Mom to make this soup and now after many decades when I am a woman, I insist on her final touch, with some execution from me. This soup is the perfect panacea for missing-mommy syndrome. :)

The Alphabet pasta which are available in US (you can find them at Trader Joe's) are large and little different from the ones you get in India but never mind the flavour compensates for it all the way. Some alphabets are colored, they also add a good texture and flavour to the soup.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4 medium servings

Ingredients:
Vegetables (chopped) - 3 cups
[Onion, Cauliflower, Carrot, Beans, Cabbage]
Alphabet Pasta - 1/2 cup
Ghee/Oil
Maggi Cube (vegetable) - 2 cubes
Salt

Method:
Take a deep bottomed pan; once heated up, add ghee and ensure it coats the bottom of the pan. Saute onions for a while and once they are translucent, add the vegetables one by one. Once all of them are added, add 3 cups of water and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer on low flame, covered, add the Alphabet pasta & Maggi cubes. Check after 5-7 minutes, once completely cooked, turn off flame and serve hot.

Note - Maggi cubes pack in lot of salt, so do not add lot of salt in the soup.