Egg Curry with Coconut Sambal and Flatbread
A comforting and warming dish inspired by the egg curries of Sri Lanka and southern India.
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
10
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
30
MINUTES
Ingredients
For the curry paste:
3 cloves of garlic
4-6cm approx. of fresh ginger
1 tbsp coconut oil
5 green cardamom pods
½ stick of cinnamon
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp mustard seeds
For the curry base
1 large brown onion
2 bird’s-eye green chillies (remove the seeds if you don’t like it too spicy!)
1 tbsp coconut oil
10 fresh curry leaves
1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
8 eggs
For the coconut sambal:
100g desiccated coconut (use freshly grated coconut if available)
1 small brown onion
30g fresh coriander
1 green chilli (optional)
juice of 1 lime
salt and a sprinkle of sugar
To serve:
warm flatbreads
Method
For the curry paste, smash and peel the garlic, then peel and roughly chop the ginger.
Heat the coconut oil in a small pan. Once warm, add the spices, garlic, and ginger and fry on a medium heat for a minute or two until fragrant, make sure they don’t burn.
Transfer to a food processor with a splash of water and blitz to a fine paste. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside.
For the curry base, finely slice the onion and cut the chillies into thirds on the diagonal. Heat the coconut oil in a heavy-based pan and once warm, add the curry leaves and chillies.
Fry briefly until they sizzle and release their fragrance, then add the onion with a decent pinch of salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onion begins to caramelise at the edges.
Lift 4 tomatoes from the tin and crush them into the pan (don’t be tempted to add the entire tin as the tomato flavour will dominate). Add the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the coconut milk and cook for 15 minutes, until the flavours have melded and the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
While the curry is coming together, get a large pan of water on a rolling boil and add the eggs. Set a timer for 7 minutes (for a medium soft-boiled egg with jammy yolks).
When they’re ready, remove and plunge into cold water. Peel off the shells and add the eggs to the curry sauce.
To make the sambal, pour the coconut into a bowl and grate in the onion.
Pour a few splashes of water over the coconut and stir together, adding more until it loses its dryness. Finely chop the coriander and chilli, if using, and stir through the coconut, being careful with the chilli at first.
Taste and season generously with lime, sugar and salt until you’re happy. Add more green chilli bit by bit to find the right level of spice for you.
Serve the curry in bowls, with warm flatbreads and a generous amount of the coconut sambal.
