Super simple Sri Lankan Egg Curry that is creamy, easy to make and absolutely delicious.
For the final day of this week's BM under Sinhalese cuisine, is this creamy and delicious Sri Lankan style Egg curry. It is called Bittarai Kirihodi and the recipe is from Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries cookbook. This is a simple every day curry that is made in many Sri Lankan homes.
I made all of this week's Sri Lankan dishes for our weekend lunch. All of the dishes revolved around coconut, a very important ingredient in Sri Lankan cuisine. Dal Mallum and Kale Mallung had grated fresh coconut in them while today's egg curry is cooked with coconut milk. It provides a nice base to the curry and also gives a creamy balance to the pungent chilies.
This way of making Egg curry is very different from how I usually make whole egg curry. I add some tomato puree or chopped tomatoes or tamarind pulp to make the gravy tangy. But this Sri Lankan version only has coconut milk flavored with untoasted curry powder. I was worried if the family would it, but even my kids loved it -- so that is good news.
The freshly made Sri Lankan spice blend made with mostly dark colored spices is highly aromatic.The spices are not toasted or roasted, so it's best to mix it with onion or garlic. If the spice blend is added directly to hot oil, they will most likely burn and turn bitter.
Serve this curry with steamed rice and enjoy!! For a vegan version of theis dish, substitute the eggs with baby boiled and peeled potatoes -- poke the potatoes with a fork to allow the sauce to be absorbed.
Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 84.
Sri Lankan Egg Curry
Ingredients
For the Curry:
- 2 tbsp Oil
- ¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 2" Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Large Red Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced (optional)
- 2 Green Chilies, slit in half (use more chilies, if you like a spicier curry)
- 2 tsp Untoasted Sri Lankan Curry powder
- 1 14oz. Canned Coconut Milk
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- To Taste Salt
- 6 Large Eggs, boiled* and peeled
For the Untoasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder:
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- 2 Cardamom pods
- 2" Cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
Instructions
Make the Curry Powder:
- Grind all the ingredients for the curry powder into a fine powder. Store in an air tight container.
Make the Curry:
- Heat oil in a pan, add the fenugreek seeds and cinnamon sticks and cook till fragrant. Add the onions and green chilies; cook till the onions turn lightly browned around the edges, about 5~8 minutes.
- Add the curry powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add the coconut milk, salt and turmeric.
- Gently add the eggs and simmer, uncovered, basting the eggs very often, until the sauce starts to thicken, about 8~10 minutes.
- Serve immediately, spooning the sauce over the eggs.
Notes
- Here's how I boil my eggs so I have nice yellow yolks without the green ring -- start with room temperature water and eggs, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Cover and set the timer for 12 minutes. After that run them under cold water, peel and use as needed.
Srivalli
Wow you made a full Srilankan meal , looks so inviting Pavani, enjoyed reading about these dishes!
Priya Suresh
Even i posted Egg curry for this theme, mine is an another version, this curry looks super creamy.. Fingerlicking goodness definitely.
Padmajha PJ
That is a nice curry recipe Pavani. Like you mentioned we can try it with potato and maybe with paneer too.
Usha
That is a yummy weekend meal. Egg curry is very creamy and looks good.
Kalyani
a treat for egg lovers. the whole meal looks awesome pavani, and with ur lens, its even more inviting !
Nisha Ramesh
That colour is awesome Pavani. 🙂 Lovely dish and am a great fan of Srilankan cuisine as they are abundant in coconut. Bookmarked this recipe.
Harini
I would love to try this with paneer for sure. Sounds so yum.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
I still need to master the boiled egg technique. Thanks for your little tip there. Coming to the recipe, I am in love with the whole spread and you have made some delicious dishes. It is a coconut overload, but the coconut lover in me has no complains.
Jayashree
The entire meal looks so good. Love the color of all the dishes.
Chef Mireille
your photos are just looking so awesome I cant even think about the recipe 😉