Andhra Egg Roast

Recently, a very close friend invited me over for a casual lunch party. My friend cooks yummy Andhra dishes and her food has a great home-style flavor. The lunch table was decorated with matching table scape, silverware and linen. I was very much pleased and delighted for the time we were spending together. For lunch, she made delicious Andhra Egg Roast, the recipe for which comes from her Mom.

She informs me that this Andhra Egg Roast makes use of lots of garlic pods which are never peeled, plenty of caramelized onion bits with lots of green chillies. Another interesting thing about this dish is its supposed to be an accompaniment to a lentil based dish, the everyday Indian Dal. "The Andhra Egg Roast goes well with Dal," she added. I agreed completely with her. The heat comes from green chillies and she asked me not to add any red chilli powder as the powder affects the texture and alters the taste of the dish. I nodded and made notes and replicated the same in my kitchen.

The result was an out-of-world egg recipe that I'll be making often. I concluded that this recipe is a keeper. Use a non-stick if you are frugal about the amount of oil required to caramelize the onions. 

Andhra Egg Roast
Simple Egg Roast with caramelized onions and whole unpeeled garlic pods

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:
Hard boiled eggs (boiled, peeled and long gashes made) - 4

Onions (finely chopped) - 3, medium
Green Chillies (finely chopped) - 2
Garlic pods (unpeeled, lightly crushed) - 8-10

Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/3 tsp

Salt
Sugar
Oil

Method:

Hard boil the eggs. Cool, peel the shell, make four wide long gashes on each egg. Sprinkle salt and turmeric powder on the eggs. Give a good toss and keep aside.

In a skillet, heat some oil. Once the oil is smoking hot, add the chopped green chillies. Saute for a minute and add the onions. The idea here is to get a crispy texture for the green chillies. Caramelize the onions to a brown color. Add oil, if required. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to aid the brown color of caramel. This process takes around 10-15 minutes.

Crush the garlic lightly with a pestle. Once the onions are partially brown, add the garlic pods and saute well. Lower the flame, add the spice powders, adjust salt. The onions and garlic will get an even coating of spice powders, also turning into crispy textured bits. Add the Eggs now, give a good toss. This will take another 15 minutes. 

Cook for couple of minutes and turn off flame. The dish goes well with home made Dal.

Spicy Lentil Soup (Pappu Chaaru)

Occasionally, we get lunch and dinner invitations which are seldom easy to forget. I mean, its not about the FOOD always! Its about the people, their hospitality, warmth, finally the company which is what matters the most. They'll cook and present the most simple dishes you can find on the face of earth; yet you feel the love all around. This also compels me to think that any simple dish cooked with love is far more tasty than a banquet dished out in a grumpy mood. I recall this amazing lunch we had at one of our office friend's place in India.

My friend makes the most amazing Chekkalu, Pacchadi, Pappu, Poriyal's and Biryani's. She made this simple spicy lentil soup which is popularly known as Pappu Chaaru in Andhra Pradesh state of India and is a quite a staple recipe in many a Andhra homes. A very simple soupy textured broth with a healthy seasoning of garlic and augmented with lot of tangy flavour of Tamarind juice. This broth is neither too thin nor too thick. Some versions of Chaaru are also made with vegetables of choice primarily Okra, Baby Onions, Tomatoes, etc; I prefer this simple plain one for the simplicity. I was in love with the Chaaru flavour and asked her for the recipe. The compliments surely made her day! I have made this countless times and love the taste. Every time I slurp the soup, it reminds me of the wonderful time we had at her place.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Toor Dal (cooked) - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Tamarind extract broth (concentrated) - 1/3 cup

Jaggery or Sugar - 1 teaspoon

For Seasoning -

Red Chillies (Byadgi) - 2-3

Garlic - 3-4 pods

Oil/Ghee

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 3-4

Garnish: Chopped Coriander leaves and hot melted Ghee.

Method:

Pressure cook Toor Dal and keep aside. In a vessel, cook the boiled Toor Dal with water in 1/2: 4 proportion. Which means, for half cup of cooked Toor Dal, add 4 cups of water. Dilute the Dal entirely in water and bring to boil. Add Turmeric powder and Red Chilli powder. Soak Tamarind pulp in warm water for 10 minutes. Squish it with your hands and add the juice in the cooking broth. Add Jaggery or Sugar now. Give a gentle stir. Adjust salt and water consistency as per choice. The broth will be brown in color now. Bring to boil and simmer on low flame for 10 minutes and turn off the flame.

In a separate pan, heat few spoons of oil/ghee. Add mustard seeds and once they begin to pop, add curry leaves and crushed Garlic. Let the garlic brown and char a little. Pour this piping hot seasoning over the Chaaru. Cover and close with a lid. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves if desired. Mix while serving and enjoy with hot steam cooked white rice. Top it up with some hot Tuppa or Ghee.

Bottle Gourd With Lentils (Lauki Daal)

Bottle Gourd or Lauki is a vegetable loaded with health properties and nutrients. I was thinking of ways and means of combining this vegetable into our daily diet. Personally, I love combining vegetables with Daal hence the recipe for a dinner meal ~ Lauki Daal. The combination provides healthy options for daily meals and the vegetables and is a great way to have an inclusive, healthy and nutritious option available at affordable price straight from the grocery store. This dish is good for quick dinner meals when you have less time and need the dinner ready in less than 30 minutes.


Thanks Indira from Mahanandi for this delicious recipe. I love her simple, tasty and earthy collection of recipes. The taste was subtle and wholesome. I made few changes to the seasoning ingredients since I wanted to elevate the taste and add some more heat.

Recipe adapted from Mahanandi
Cooking time ~ 10 minute
Preparation time ~ 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd or Lauki (chopped) - 1 and 1/2 cup
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Onions (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon
Salt - As per taste

For seasoning -
Ghee - For frying
Garlic (chopped) - 1 teaspoon
Red Chillies - split into two (Byadgi variety) - 2
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 3-4

Method:
Wash Lauki and remove the hard skin. Chop them into pieces. Wash Toor Daal and add the chopped Lauki pieces along with Red Chilli powder, Turmeric powder and chopped Onions. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or till the Daal gets mushy and soft. Allow to cool. Mash the concoction with a Masher to a smooth paste. If you prefer non-mushy consistency, do not mash and leave the concoction as is.

In a separate pan, heat Ghee. Once heated up, add Mustard seeds and Cumin seeds. Once they begin to pop, add Red Chillies and Curry leaves and chopped Garlic. Saute till Garlic is lightly browned. Turn off the flame and pour this seasoning onto the Daal. Close the lid. Mix Daal with seasoning while serving with warm Rice and a teaspoon of Ghee. Serve with Vodee/ Vadams on the side.