Punjabi Egg Curry Recipe (Anda Curry)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
This homestyle Punjabi Egg Curry (Anda Curry) is a flavorful curry with hard-boiled eggs simmered in an onion-tomato gravy. It can be made in under 40 minutes using simple ingredients.
Here are some more egg curry recipes that you may like: Kerala egg curry, Kolhapuri egg curry, Chettinad egg curry, and egg butter masala.
Table of Contents
What Is Punjabi Egg Curry?
This Punjabi egg curry is a homestyle curry in which hard-boiled eggs are shallow-fried and then simmered in a spicy onion-tomato gravy. Just like any other homestyle recipe, this dish is also made differently in each home.
I learned to make this curry from a Punjabi friend’s mother and have been making it like this for many years now.
It’s the curry I make when the fridge is almost empty. Eggs, an onion, a can of tomato puree, and the spice box. That’s the whole shopping list.
Serve it with phulka, naan, tandoori roti, or tawa paratha. For a rice meal, steamed basmati or jeera rice works well.
Ingredients
You will find all the ingredients to make this spicy egg curry in the Asian aisle of a supermarket or any Indian grocery store.
- Eggs – Fresh free-range eggs taste best, but white, brown, or country eggs all work. Start with them cold from the fridge. They cook more evenly that way.
- Oil – Sunflower, canola, mustard, or light olive oil. Mustard oil gives a sharper, more Punjabi flavor. Ghee works too, but then the curry is no longer dairy-free.
- Whole spices – You will need cumin seeds (jeera), cloves (laung), and black cardamom (badi elaichi). Crush the cloves and cardamom lightly so they release their smoky oils. A bay leaf (tej patta) and a few dried red chilies are a fine addition.
- Spice Powders – You will need a few basic Indian spice powders, such as coriander powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, and salt. Add a little cumin powder and black pepper powder for a spicy kick.
- Tomato puree – I use canned puree because it tastes more concentrated than fresh tomatoes blended at home. Tomato paste works too, at half the amount.
- Kasuri Methi – Kasuri methi gives a lot of flavor to the curry.
- Other Ingredients – You will also need red onions, fresh ginger, garlic, freshly squeezed lime juice, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves). Fresh ginger and garlic cloves can be replaced with ginger-garlic paste.
How To Make Punjabi Egg Curry
Hard Boil The Eggs
Set up the pan. Place 4 cold eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Add 3-4 cups of water, enough to cover them by at least an inch. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. The salt helps keep the whites from leaking out if a shell cracks.
Boil, then rest. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Switch off the heat, cover tightly, and let the eggs sit for 12 minutes. The residual heat cooks them gently, so the yolks stay yellow instead of turning grey-green.
Cool and peel. Drain, refill with cold water, and let the eggs cool for 5 minutes. Then peel them.
Fry The Eggs
Dry and prick. Wipe each peeled egg completely dry with a kitchen towel, then prick it all over with a fork. This is the step people skip, and it’s the one that matters. Wet eggs spit hot oil everywhere, and unpricked eggs can burst. The holes also let the gravy seep in later.
Shallow fry. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the eggs, turning them often, until browned on all sides. If they splutter a lot, cover the pan with a lid. Your eggs should look like the photo below: golden patches with a slightly blistered skin. Set them aside on a plate.
Make The Curry
Temper the spices. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 3–4 crushed cloves, and 1 crushed black cardamom. Let them crackle for 3–4 seconds.
Brown the onions. Add 1 cup finely chopped onions. Cook, stirring often, until they just start to brown, about 4–5 minutes.
Add ginger and garlic. Stir in 1 teaspoon each of chopped ginger and garlic. Cook until the onions turn golden brown, another 4–5 minutes. Golden, not dark. Onions that go too far make the whole curry taste bitter.
Cook the tomato. Add ½ cup tomato puree (or ¼ cup tomato paste) and cook for 3–4 minutes.
Add the spice powders. Add the following spice powders and cook for 3-4 minutes. If the masala dries out and starts catching on the bottom, splash in a little water. Burnt spice powder is the fastest way to ruin this curry.
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
Simmer with the eggs. Pour in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the fried eggs, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5–6 minutes.
Finish. Stir in 2 tablespoons crushed kasuri methi and 1 teaspoon lime juice. Garnish with 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro and serve hot. Both go in at the end because the methi aroma and the lime’s brightness fade if they cook too long.
Pro Tips By Neha
- Frying is optional, but worth it. You can add the peeled eggs straight into the gravy on a busy night. They’ll still taste good, but fried eggs soak up more flavor and hold their shape.
- Slit the eggs if you’re short on time. Two shallow cuts down the sides let the masala into the yolk faster.
- Pick your consistency. Use 2 cups of water to make a pourable gravy that works well with rice. Cut it to 1 cup for a thicker semi-dry masala to scoop up with roti.
- Let it sit. Egg curry tastes better after 15–20 minutes off the heat, once the eggs have absorbed some gravy. Reheat gently before serving.
- Double the eggs, not the masala. One reader made it with 6 eggs and the gravy covered them easily.
Variations
Richer gravy: Stir in a paste of cashews, almonds, or poppy seeds, or a splash of cream at the end.
South Indian style: Swap the water for coconut milk, and add mustard seeds and curry leaves to the tempering.
Smoky dhaba flavor: Use the dhungar method from the FAQ below.
Aloo anda curry: Add boiled, cubed potatoes with the eggs.
Thicker and nuttier: Stir in a spoonful of roasted besan (gram flour) along with the spice powders.
If This Doesn’t Work
Why are my eggs bursting or spitting in the oil? They were still wet, or they weren’t pricked. Pat them completely dry, prick them all over, and keep a lid handy.
Why is my gravy bitter? Either the onions went past golden or the spice powders burnt. Keep the heat at medium once the powders go in, and splash water the moment they start to stick.
Why is my gravy watery? Simmer uncovered for another 3–4 minutes. Or mash a little of the masala against the side of the pan to thicken it.
Why do the eggs taste bland even though the gravy is good? The gravy can’t get in through a smooth, unpricked white. Prick or slit the eggs, and let the curry rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Why did my curry turn too thick after resting? The eggs and methi soak up liquid as they sit. Add a few tablespoons of hot water and warm it through.
Punjabi Egg Curry FAQs
A Punjabi-style egg curry uses an onion-tomato masala with whole spices such as black cardamom and cloves, plus kasuri methi added at the end. South Indian versions such as Kerala egg curry lean on coconut and curry leaves instead.
Place an egg in a bowl of cold water. If it sinks and lies flat, it’s fresh. If it stands upright, it’s older but still fine to use. If it floats, throw it out.
To give the anda curry a smoky flavor, you can use the Dungar method: smoking the curry with coal in a bowl with hot ghee. Heat a piece of coal or a cinnamon stick over a direct flame until it is red-hot. Keep a small bowl in the center of the pot with the curry. Keep the red-hot coal in the bowl. Drizzle a teaspoon of oil over the coal and close the pot lid immediately. Let the curry absorb the smoke for 10 minutes. Open the lid and remove the bowl. Give the curry a gentle stir. Heat it once again and serve.
Storage Suggestions
This curry is best eaten fresh, while the fried eggs still have their chewy skin. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The gravy thickens as it sits, so reheat it in a pan over low heat with a splash of water, stirring gently to keep the eggs from breaking.
Skip the microwave because it can make boiled eggs rubbery or even cause them to burst.
You can cook the masala up to the point where the spice powders are added, then freeze it for up to a month. Thaw, add water, and simmer with freshly boiled eggs for a curry that tastes just-made.
Other Egg Recipes We Recommend
Craving more? Subscribe to Whisk Affair to get new recipes and a newsletter delivered straight to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Punjabi Egg Curry Recipe (Anda Curry)
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs (cold, straight from the refrigerator)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil (sunflower oil, canola oil, mustard oil or ghee, divided)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3-4 cloves (laung) (crushed)
- 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi) (crushed)
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- ½ cup tomato puree (or ¼ cup tomato paste)
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons crushed Kasuri methi
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Hard Boil The Eggs
- Set up the pan. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Add 3-4 cups of water, enough to cover them by at least an inch. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. The salt helps keep the whites from leaking out if a shell cracks.
- Boil, then rest. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Switch off the heat, cover tightly, and let the eggs sit for 12 minutes. The residual heat cooks them gently, so the yolks stay yellow instead of turning grey-green.
- Cool and peel. Drain, refill with cold water, and let the eggs cool for 5 minutes. Then peel them.
Fry The Eggs
- Dry and prick. Wipe each peeled egg completely dry with a kitchen towel, then prick it all over with a fork. This is the step people skip, and it’s the one that matters. Wet eggs spit hot oil everywhere, and unpricked eggs can burst. The holes also let the gravy seep in later.
- Shallow fry. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the eggs, turning them often, until browned on all sides. If they splutter a lot, cover the pan with a lid. Your eggs should look like the photo below: golden patches with a slightly blistered skin. Set them aside on a plate.
Make The Curry
- Temper the spices. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, cloves, and black cardamom. Let them crackle for 3–4 seconds.
- Brown the onions. Add onions. Cook, stirring often, until they just start to brown, about 4–5 minutes.
- Add ginger and garlic. Stir in the ginger and garlic. Cook until the onions turn golden brown, another 4–5 minutes. Golden, not dark. Onions that go too far make the whole curry taste bitter.
- Cook the tomato. Add tomato puree (or tomato paste) and cook for 3–4 minutes.
- Add the spice powders. Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook for 3-4 minutes. If the masala dries out and starts catching on the bottom, splash in a little water. Burnt spice powder is the fastest way to ruin this curry.
- Simmer with the eggs. Pour in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the fried eggs, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5–6 minutes.
- Finish. Stir in kasuri methi and lime juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot. Both go in at the end because the methi aroma and the lime’s brightness fade if they cook too long.
Just finished making this.
I hope you liked it
I added 6 eggs instead of 4, I think you could add even more
This is a great recipe and was super easy to make
Will definitely make it again 🥚
I love your recipes, Thanks you to searing with us🙏😊
Hi there! just found your article when I was looking for making Egg masala recipe by ourselves at home.
Thanks for sharing this very well-written and worth reading article.
wish to see more in the coming days.
thanks for sharing delicious egg curry recipe with us.
Thnx for trying