Muttai Curry – Egg Curry with Garlic, Tamarind and Curry Leaves
Muttai Curry literally translates to Egg Curry. There are dozens of variations of these in South India alone. Let amone covering the rest of India. This variation is simple and offers deep flavors. It meshes eggs with garlic, tamarind, and curry leaves. The result is pure magic. Ideally great served with Appam. But you know any kind of bread works. With hard boiled eggs on hand this get done in about 20 to 25 minutes flat. Prep and all.
Eggs are kind of comfort food in my house. e like them but do not curry them as often as we should. I have a fail safe recipe that I cook, quite often on Fridays to close out the week. I am always on the lookout for nteresting egg curry recipes.Eggs also are that interesting grey lines for Indian vegetarians. Some consider it vegetarian others not so much. My mother-in-law who is a vegetarian and is not partial to cooking meat in her house, is OK to cross the line with eggs.
In her case crossing the line means, she is OK with us cooking eggs for the kids. On the other hand, my husband’s cousin and her husband who has been visiting us recently, feel that they live vicariously through eating eggs.
Him, more than her! Eggs are also comfort, food for my son and used to be something that I savored a lot with my father. In fact, the rare times that dad was left to his own devices with me without mom (and without the many servants, it was all about egg curry and crisp and luscious puris)
There is something just that comforting about a good egg curry. If you like a shakshuka fan, you might want to give this dish a try! Come-on! Do not let a few curry leaves and tamarind stand in the way of a great tasting brunch dish! This recipe is adapted from the cookbook, 660 Curries, interestingly enough the author Raghavan Iyer also grew up vegetarian and often references his childhood and experiences in his cookbooks. I have simplified steps here and there but overall have stayed pretty true to the original recipe.
Once in a while, I throw in tomatoes. I LOVE tomatoes, so I sometimes just add them instictively. However, the general sauce with a little tamarind and thickened with rice flour is jammy and nuanced. You can certainly increase the heat level. My two customers (aka my children) like it at this level. It is a quick and perfect addition to any meal – breakfast, dinner, and of course lunch.
A tangy heady full flavored egg curry, that is great for a weekend brunch.
Ingredients
- 4 pods of garlic
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 15 curry leaves
- 1-2 green chilies
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 1 medium sized red onion, finely diced (the original recipe recommends shallots)
- 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon rice flour (can be subbed with corn starch)
- 4 to 6 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and shelled and halved
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place the garlic, ginger and half the curry leaves in a small food processor and grind to a very fine mince.
- Heat the oil on medium heat for about 30 seconds and add the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle and pop.
- Lower the heat and add in the onions and saute for about 3 minutes, add in the minced garlic mixture and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture is nice and fragrant.
- Add in the tamarind, remaining curry leaves, salt and stir in the water and bring this to a simmer
- Add in the rice flour and stir in to the mixture. Add in the eggs and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce is thick, jammy and clingy.
- Serve the eggs, yolk side up with the sauce spooned over them.
- Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro before serving
Notes
Note: Time does not include boiling the eggs
Starting Out with Your Instant Pot - Meal Prep Assistance - Spice Chronicles
[…] as managing life. So, first on that list is boiling a batch of eggs. Boiled eggs can be used for a quick egg curry or even used to jazz up […]
Mayuri Patel
Rinku, I too am always on the lookout for different ways to prepare egg dishes. I am a huge lover of egg curry. And when it is with my favourite tamarind, all the more tempting it sounds. It is an easy recipe to follow so next egg curry in my house will be your recipe.
Priya Vj
Egg curry with tamarind and garlic sounds good. I am sure the egg lovers will go drooling over such a classic recipe
preethi
This Egg curry with garlic tamrind and curry leaves looks scrumptious. A delicious treat for all egg lovers. Lovely mix of flavors.
preethi recently posted…BENDEKAYI MAJJIGE HULI / YOGURT CURRY
Shobha+Keshwani
Simple and delicious egg curry, a treat for egg lovers. Pairs well with rotis. Will try out your version.
Shobha+Keshwani recently posted…GRAPES RAITA / ANGOOR KA RAITA
Archana
Eggs in my place are made when my FIL is not at home. We love the different currries with eggs and this egg curry with garlic and tamarind is what I will make at my daughter’s pad soon. Thanks.
Sujata+Roy
Egg curry looks so inviting. I like to try different types of egg curries. Thanks for sharing a different recipe. Tamarind curry leaves definitely made this curry flavorful and delicious. Saving the recipe to try sometime.
Priya
Egg curry with tamarind and garlic sounds inviting! Love the simple, yet amazing flavors. Such a hearty curry to enjoy.
Mina Joshi
Egg Curry is a deliciously rich tamarind gravy, looks exactly like the ones you get in Indian Restaurants here. These are perfect with some rice or chappatis.
Mina Joshi recently posted…Apple salad with sweet and sour dressing
Kalyani
660 curries is a must have for those truly and deeply in love with curries. this is such a beautiful adaptation, Rinku and I bet the egg curry must have warmed up the soul everytime you made it..