Dimer Kalia – Sweet Savory Bengali Egg Curry

It’s aromatic and it’s creamy! Dimer Kalia is a quintessential Bengali Egg Curry that has a lovely blend of sweet and savory. Bengali New Year is around the corner and I have a rich creamy curry to celebrate the day. Typically, on a special day like “Poila Boishak” (Bengali New Year), the menu always includes fish, mutton and ends with dessert. While I love fish and mutton, I just wanted to give an option to people who would like to a take slightly different route in building the menu.

Also, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like egg curry. So, whether you are celebrating or not, this curry could be your any day feast.

What goes in this Bengali Egg Curry?

Spices: Cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamom is added in the beginning of the cooking. A mix of ground spices (cumin, chili powder, coriander and fennel) goes in the gravy.

Onion: Half of the onion is finely chopped and it helps to thicken the sauce. The other half the onion is thinly sliced to add a subtle texture to the gravy.

Garlic and Ginger: Use fresh garlic and ginger, either finely chopped or grated.

Tomato: Apart from adding whole juicy red tomato, I also add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the gravy. It adds a gorgeous red hue to the curry.

Nuts: The addition of grounded nuts is what makes this dish extra special and exotic. I used cashew nuts but you can use almond too. If you are allergic, use white poppy seeds instead.

Full Proof method to hard boil eggs and peel perfectly!

I have been following this method for several years now and it works wonderfully.

Drop the eggs in cold water and bring the water to a boil. Then, switch off the gas and cover the pan for 12 minutes.

Take ice water or cold tap water in a bowl and drop the boiled eggs. Crack the eggs and place it back in the bowl for a few seconds. The water slips in and releases the shell from the egg, making it very easy to peel.

Boiled eggs are fried before adding to the gravy. Don’t fry more than 1 minute, as it would change the texture of the egg, making it hard and rubbery.

This gorgeous Dimer Kalia (Sweet Savory Bengali Egg Curry) takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and pairs beautifully with either rice or Indian flat bread. Hope you will give it a try and do let me know how you like it by tagging me in Instagram @playfulcooking

Here is a link to more Bengali recipes if you want to try!

Dimer Kalia – Sweet Savory Bengali Egg Curry

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 and ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup mustard oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1- teaspoon sugar
• 1 red onion, 1/2 thinly sliced and 1/2 finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic, finely chopped
• 2 red tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1- tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 green chili, ends trimmed
• ¼ cup cashew, if you are allergic to nuts, replace with 2 tablespoons white poppy seeds
• fresh cilantro leaves for garnish at the end

spices

• ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 and ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 green cardamoms
• 1- teaspoon cumin powder
• 1- teaspoon coriander powder
• 1- teaspoon fennel powder

Instructions

1. Put the eggs in a pan of cold water. Place the pan on high heat and bring the water to a boil. Then, switch off the heat and cover the pan for 12 minutes. Place the boiled eggs in ice water or cold tap water. Crack the eggs and place it back to the bowl of water for a few seconds. The peel will come off easy.
2. Score the eggs slightly all around and place it in a bowl. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and ¼ teaspoon chili powder. Mix it around.
3. Place a heavy bottom pan at medium heat and pour the mustard oil. Once the oil heats up, add the boiled eggs and toss it around for 1 minute to gently fry. Don’t fry for too long or the texture of the egg will become rubbery! Take it off the pan once done.
4. To the same pan, drop the cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf. Let it sizzle for a few seconds and then, add the garlic and ginger. Stir it around for 30 seconds.
5. Drop the onion (both finely chopped and sliced), sprinkle 1-teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon sugar. Sauté for 2 minutes.
6. In a bowl, mix 1-teaspoon cumin powder, 1-teaspoon chili powder, 1-teaspoon coriander powder and 1-teaspoon fennel powder with 2 tablespoons of water. Add the spice paste to the pan along with the chopped tomato. Cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes.
8. Pour 1-cup water with ½ teaspoon salt and simmer for 2 minutes.
9. Grind the cashew and add it to the curry along with the green chili and fried boiled eggs. Simmer for 1 minute. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro leaves and serve warm.