Masala stuffed egg.

Really I was confused before posting this title, because I could not figure out the exact Tamil name for this recipe. As my culinary guru is my mom, I call the recipes by her nomenclature only. She used to present this item as 'keerina muttai masala', which means an egg slit gently and stuffed with some spicy masal:) . Also this is exactly how my Tuticorin aachi (my grandma) taught us this egg curry. I like the way my aachi calls this as keeri muttai :)
  I am not sure if many household out here practice the same name. Anyways this blog is to remember her , so I call it by the same, the 'keerina muttai'. Those were days when we used to make large number of boiled eggs for family parties. We have to be careful while preparing the hard-boiled egg as the whole dish relies on the appearance of the egg. Even though it is not a rocket science, I believe it need some skills. So I have shared my version to make perfect boiled eggs below. Feel free to share your tricks too.
This egg masal will be a perfect match with tomato rice (thakkali saatham), biryani etc. Try out and tell me how you devoured it:)



Ingredients:
Boiled egg - 2
red onion (finely chopped)- 2 tbsp per egg
Fennel - 1/4 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
Garam masal powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)

How to boil the egg perfectly:
Take out the egg from fridge and keep outside for atleast 15 minutes.
Wash and clean the egg. Place it in a vessel, very gently, slowly and carefully. Because this is where we end up in broken egg.
Next fill the vessel with water, so that an inch of water remains above the egg.
Start heating the vessel in a slow fire till the water turns almost hot. The reason for slow cooking is to avoid cracking. Then increase the heat till we get bubbles.
Immediately reduce flame and cook in low flame for 10 minutes (12 minutes for very large eggs).(Never cook it in boiling water entirely, otherwise we may end up with rubbery eggs). Put off fire.
Then remove the hot water. Cool the eggs by pouring cold water and peel off the shell.
Hard boiled egg is ready!

Note:
Very fresh eggs are difficult to peel. But the ones near expiration are great.

Method:
Heat oil in a wok.
Add fennel and let it get red. Then add the onion and saute it till it gets soft.Then add salt, chilly powder, garam masal , turmeric powder and stir well. Immediately switch off. Take out the masala.

Slit the egg in once or twice without splitting it. Fill the masal inside and slowly roll the eggs in the wok to coat the remaining masala in the wok over the eggs.

Masala stuffed egg is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with tomato rice, any biryani etc.

Pumpkin Poriyal

Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Yellow pumpkin is always a challenge in Indian cooking. Many a times we use it in sambar for that sweetness but making poriyal is something odd for many. But this pumpkin poriyal is a regular one in our house. Mom used to make it quite often. The addition of fennel in the poriyal makes it more flavorful.



Ingredients:
Ripe pumpkin - 1/2 kg
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
channa dhal - 2 tbsp
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
green chilly - 3
Shallot / red onion - 1 cup (chopped)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cumin - 1/4 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:
Cook channa dhal and keep aside.

Wash and remove the skin of pumpkin.
Chop it into small cubes.

Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds and let it get red.
Then add the chopped onion, green chilliew, curry leaf and stir for a while.
After the onion turns soft, add the chopped pumpkin, stir for a minute.

Add 1/2 cup water and cook covered.
After the pumpkin gets cooked add the cooked channa dhal, salt, cumin and shredded coconut.
Stir till all the moisture is gone. Take off the heat.

If the pumpkin is not sweet, add 1/2 tsp sugar at the end.

Pumpkin poriyal is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish for vatral kulambu / karakulambu over rice.

Song of the day:
I have planned to share some of my favorite songs along with my posts. If you wish click and enjoy. 'Eagle's wings' is one of the famous songs they sing in our church. This You tube album has the lyrics too. Enjoy!