Dhaba Style Egg Curry Recipe
This Dhaba-Style Egg Curry comes together in under 30 minutes with simple ingredients. It is loaded with robust, intense flavors that will transport you to the dhabas (roadside eateries in North India). Make it at home using my easy recipe.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
To Fry The Eggs
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- 6-8 hard-boiled eggs
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For The Curry
- 4 tablespoons mustard oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 dry red chilies
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-4 cloves (laung)
- 2 black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
- 5-6 black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 1 and ½ cups chopped onions
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 2-3 green chilies slit in half
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd)
- 1 and ½ teaspoons coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon crushed kasuri methi
- 1 and ½ cups hot water
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon ginger juliennes
Instructions
Fry The Eggs
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Lightly slit boiled eggs. Add the eggs to the pan along with turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, and salt.
- Shallow-fry the eggs until they are golden and blistered on all sides. Rotate the eggs when frying to evenly blister them. Remove on a plate and set aside. This step gives the eggs texture and helps them soak up gravy later.
Make The Curry Base
- Add mustard oil to the same pan and heat over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, dry red chilies, bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, black peppercorns, and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- Add onions and cook until translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook until the onions are deep golden brown. This is where the dhaba flavor is built. Don’t rush.
- Now add tomatoes, green chilies, and yogurt, and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Note: If you like a creamier curry, blend the masala paste at this stage with an immersion blender or a mixer grinder. Then follow the rest of the recipe as is.
- Add coriander powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, garam masala, and salt, and cook until the oil starts to separate from the sides of the pan.
Add Eggs
- Add kasuri methi, 1 and ½ cups of hot water, and the fried eggs to the pan, and mix well.
- Simmer covered for 8–10 minutes, until the eggs absorb the masala.
- Garnish with cilantro and ginger juliennes. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
Dhaba-style cooking has a very distinctive taste, thanks to the use of mustard oil. I highly recommend using it to make this curry. However, if you don’t have mustard oil, use any other cooking oil.
Wipe the boiled eggs with paper towels before frying them so that they don’t splutter in hot oil.
Do not over-boil the eggs; otherwise, the yolk will become hard. They will cook in the masala later. Just boil them enough so their shells come off.
Nutrition
Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 282mg | Sodium: 1161mg | Potassium: 462mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1090IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 3mg
