Egg curry in Tamarind sauce

This egg curry is from Telangana region, and my mother used to make it often. I don’t claim my recipe is authentic telangana style; the taste is close to it.

When I feel like eating something spicy and tangy, I think of this dish. Let me state in the beginning itself:  this recipe needs practicing. First few times, it will either be too sour, too spicy, too thick, too watery, or even too sweet! Keep adjusting the spices to suit your taste buds.

The curry should be cooked thoroughly; nothing is more awful than raw tasting tamarind. it tastes best with rice.

Ingredients:

Eggs – 3 or 4 nos.

Tamarind –25 gms. Or size of a medium lime

Onions – 3 nos. medium size

Ginger and garlic paste – ½ tsp.

Cloves – 2 nos.

Shahjeera (black cumin seeds or Caraway seeds) – ¼ tsp.

Red chilli powder – ½ tsp.

Haldi (Turmeric powder) – ¼ tsp.

Mint leaves – 2 tbs. full

Jaggery – 1 tsp. full

Coriander powder – 1 tsp.

Oil – 3 tbs.

Salt – 1 tsp. (approxi.)

Method:

• Boil eggs and remove shell. Make thin vertical slits on four sides of the egg.
• Clean and soak tamarind in 1 cup of water. After 10 min. sqeeze out the juice and add another cup of water. Take out the juice and mix both together. Keep it aside.
• Grind onion coarsely and keep aside. Chop mint leaves.
• Heat oil in a pan, add cloves & shahjeera. When they start spluttering, add coarsely ground onion paste and mint leaves. Add ginger garlic paste when onion paste is light brown in colour.
• Add tamarind juice. Mix well and let it cook with a lid on.
• Put turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
• Let it cook for 5 min. on slow flame. Drop the boiled eggs, and add coriander powder and crushed jaggery.
• Adjust seasoning as per your liking. Oil starts floating to the top when the curry is done. Take it off the stove.
• Mix it with hot rice and eat.