Sambar Style Egg Curry

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. And I couldn’t agree more. One evening, I returned home to an almost empty fridge. I don’t like that. I like to be prepared, at least mentally, for what to cook for dinner. I have a long commute back home and I use this time very productively. By thinking of what to cook for dinner!


Whatever vegetables I had in the fridge seemed very uninteresting. I thought of rice and egg curry. The idea seemed very appealing. S loved the idea (he loves any idea that rice is a part of) and I set to work. Suddenly I felt that the usual tomato onion gravy would be too boring. I thought of sambar. Sambar with eggs, nah. Vathal Kuzhambu with eggs, maybe. I ended up with this dish which is part sambar, part vathal kuzhambu, but is really just an egg curry. We loved it. I will make it a little more liquidy the next time I make it. (That only means that I shall stand and watch the dish and not wander away to return to a dry curry.)


4 Eggs, boiled and shelled
1 tbsp Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves
2 Green Chillies, slit
2 tbsp Tamarind Paste
2 tsp Sambar Powder
Salt to taste
Coriander Leaves for garnish



Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the mustard, cumin and asafoetida. After about half a minute, add the curry leaves and the slit chillies. Add the onions after a minute and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sambar powder and salt and fry for a minute. Add the tamarind paste with about ¾ cup of water and bring the mixture to a boil.


Make incisions in the eggs and add them to the boiling gravy. Allow to thicken a little. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and enjoy this with some steamed rice.