Egg Masala

Make this simple and quick Dhaba-style egg masala curry for a delicious Indian meal. It gets done in under 20 minutes and uses simple pantry staples.

Egg curry is very comforting for busy days and thus I am sharing some more recipes that you can try – Kerala Egg Curry, Kolhapuri Egg Curry, Chettinad Egg Curry, Egg Butter Masala, and Mughlai Egg Korma.

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make Egg Masala?
• Pro Tips By Neha
• Storage Suggestions
• Serving Suggestions
• You might also like
• Recipe Card

About This Recipe

Egg masala is an Indian curry made using hard-boiled eggs simmered in an onion-tomato gravy which is spiced using a few spices. This simple and quick-to-make curry is very flavorful and comes together in under 20 minutes.

Each home has a different style of making egg masala and with a slight change in the spices used, you get a totally different taste.

I am sharing a dhaba-style (Indian roadside restaurants) recipe to make this egg curry masala here and I am sure you will like it too.

This Egg Masala Curry is,

• Delicious
• Dairy-Free
• Easy to make
• Loaded with flavor
• Like your Dhaba Anda Curry

Ingredients

Eggs – In this curry, hard-boiled eggs are shallow fried in mustard oil before adding them into the thick tomato gravy. You can skip the frying step to make the curry healthier.

Oil – If you want that Dhaba taste, I would highly recommend making it mustard oil, as it lends a beautiful flavor to this curry. If you do not have mustard oil, you can use vegetable oil or light olive oil.

Whole Spices – Whole spices when infused in hot oil adds a nice flavor and aroma. I have used cumin seeds, cloves, and cardamoms.

You can also add in bay leaf and dry red chili if you like.

Spice Powders – Add in some everyday and basic spice powders such as coriander powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala spice mix, and salt, that will further enhance the taste of this curry.

Tomato & Tomato Puree – We will use both, finely chopped fresh tomatoes and tomato puree, to make the base of this curry, which will add a little bit of tartness and sweetness. If you don’t have access to tomato puree, use half the amount of tomato paste.

If you like smooth curry, add only tomato puree and skip chopped tomatoes.

Kasuri Methi – Finally, add in some Kasuri Methi, which instantly adds so much flavor.

Others – Apart from the above-mentioned ingredients, we will need some basic ingredients such as onion, fresh ginger, garlic, lime, and cilantro (coriander).

How to make Egg Masala?

Start by boiling the eggs. Add 6-7 cups of water to a medium-size saucepan and keep the eggs in a single layer at the bottom of the pan. Eggs must be covered with water for at least an inch. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add 2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Adding salt will prevent the eggs from breaking and the whites to run out while boiling. Try this tip and thank me later 🙂

Now reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and let it sit aside for 5 minutes. Drain the hot water and fill the pan with cold water. Let the eggs cool down for 5 minutes. Drain the water, take the eggs out and peel them.

Wipe the peeled eggs with a kitchen towel and prick them with a fork all over. If you don’t wipe the eggs, they will splutter a lot while frying because of the moisture in them. Pricking also helps while frying.

Heat 2 tablespoon mustard oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Shallow fry the eggs until they are browned from all sides. Keep rotating them while frying. If it is spluttering a lot, cover the skillet with a lid.

Take out the fried eggs on a plate and keep them aside.

Heat the remaining oil (2 tbsp) in a medium-size wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil left from frying the eggs to this pot too. Once the oil is hot, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 3-4 crushed cloves, and 1 crushed black cardamom and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.

Add 1 cup finely chopped onion and fry on medium-high heat until slightly browned. Keep stirring while frying. It will take 4-5 minutes.

Now add 1 teaspoon chopped ginger and 1 teaspoon chopped garlic and fry until onions are nicely browned. It will take another 4-5 minutes.

Add ½ cup finely chopped tomato and ¼ cup tomato puree and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon coriander powder, 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala spice mix, and salt to taste and cook for 3-4 minutes. If the masala is getting too dry and is starting to burn from the bottom, splash a little water.

Now add the boiled and fried eggs and 2 cups of water to the pot and bring the gravy to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add 2 tablespoon crushed Kasuri methi and 1 teaspoon lime juice and mix well. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. Egg masala is ready to serve. Serve it hot with any Indian bread or rice.

Pro Tips By Neha

Frying boiled eggs in mustard oil really brings out the flavor. If you do not want to fry the eggs, add them directly to the curry.

To give the curry a smoky flavor, you can do a Dungar method, which is smoking the curry with coal in a bowl with hot ghee. Heat a piece of coal or a cinnamon stick over direct heat 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 lid of the pot 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.

For a smooth textured curry, only use tomato puree and not chopped tomatoes.

Make the curry only in mustard oil, for the Dhaba-like taste.

You can make egg masala with lot’s of gravy, semi gravy or dry.

To make the curry richer, add cashew nuts, almonds, or poppy seeds paste to it. Heavy cream can also be added at the end of the cooking.

Storage Suggestions

You can store egg masala in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, in an air-tight container. You can store only the curry too, and add in freshly boiled eggs while serving. Reheat it in a pan or microwave, until nice and hot.

When it comes to freezing the curry, hard-boiled eggs can be frozen, but they won’t taste good once you thaw them. So I would recommend you freeze the curry in a ziplock freezer bag and add freshly boiled eggs to the curry when you are planning to serve it.

Serving Suggestions

This simple egg masala curry recipe tastes good with almost all the Indian bread, but I usually serve it along with roti, lachha paratha, or jeera rice.

You can also serve it with makki ki roti or bajre ki roti in Winters. This combination tastes just delicious.

I sometimes even like to serve egg masala with a crisp plain dosa or appam, especially for weekend breakfasts.

A few of my other fav options are – ghee rice, tawa paratha, mutton biryani, and basmati rice.

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