This Punjabi Egg Curry (Anda Curry) is a flavorful curry where hard-boiled eggs are simmered in an onion- tomato based gravy. Make it in under 30 minutes using simple ingredients.
Add 6-7 cups of water to a saucepan and keep the cold eggs in a single layer at the bottom of the pan.
Eggs must be covered with water for at least an inch.
Add 2 teaspoons of 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 🙂
Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat.
Once the water comes to a rolling boil, switch off the heat and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Let the pan rest for 12 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.
Fry The Eggs
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 oil in a medium 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.
Make The Curry
Add the remaining oil (2 tbsp) to the same pan and heat it over medium-high heat.
Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, cloves, and black cardamom, and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.
Add onions and cook until slightly browned, stirring frequently (4-5 minutes).
Now add ginger and garlic and cook until onions are nicely browned (4-5 minutes).
Add tomato puree and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, and salt, 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 2 cups of water to the pot and bring the gravy to a boil.
Add the boiled eggs and mix well.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
This Punjabi style egg curry recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.You can skip frying the eggs and add them directly to the curry.To give the anda 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.You can choose to keep the gravy thin, 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.