Here’s a quick recipe for hard-boiled eggs from Madhur Jaffrey’s ILLUSTRATED INDIAN COOKERY. Perfect with rice or paratha or as an addition to a larger Indian meal.
First hard-boil 6-8 eggs. Peel and halve them and set aside. To make the sauce, heat some oil over medium heat in a frypan and add 1 finely chopped onion. Cook for a few minutes until just browning on the edges then add a 2.5cm (1″) cube of finely grated ginger and a finely diced green chilli. Cook briefly then add 300ml (10 fl oz) of cream, 150ml (5 fl oz) of chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, ½ a teaspoon of salt, ¼ of a teaspoon of garam masala and ⅛ of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Place the egg halves in the sauce with the cut side up. Cook for 5 minutes, spooning the sauce over the eggs, until the sauce is thicker and the eggs are hot. Garnish with fresh coriander (cilantro) to serve.
From the same book comes this moong and red lentil dhal. Madhur Jaffrey describes it as ‘earthy, wholesome and utterly delicious’ and writes that she eats this at least once a week. I can understand why.
Combine 175g (6 oz) each of moong dhal and masoor (red lentil) dhal in a bowl and wash and drain them a few times. Now put them in a heavy pot with ½ a teaspoon of ground turmeric. Partially cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for 40 – 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the dhals are tender, add 1¼ teaspoons of salt and stir well. Keep the dhal warm over very low heat. Slice a small onion very thinly and set aside. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil or ghee in a frypan over high heat. When the oil is hot add a generous pinch of asafetida followed by 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds. After a few seconds add 3-5 whole dry chillies. As soon as they darken, add the sliced onion. Turn the heat down a little and continue to cook, stirring, until the onions are brown and crisp. Pour the entire contents of the frypan into the dhal and quickly stir them in. Yum!
michelle picker cooks 