BENGAL EGG CURRY

You may ask why are you calling it 'Bengal Egg Curry'? The instant answer is... for the potato chunks I have used in it. We have to put potatoes in curries. I think the world knows about our love for potatoes, fish, books and sweet n sour gossips. Few other unique characteristics of us I will mention in this post. Well, we are not a propertied clan but don't think twice spending thousands on buying books. We religiously visit book fairs and are introduced to Voltaire, Rousseau, Tagore, Kafka at a very young age. Our parents think there are only two decent professions in the world....Doctor n Engineer. Beyond this they refuse to think. To pursue this, small kids are put into a tremendous pressure of competition. 

To have a practical knowledge of this you have to be present at any school gate during the dispersal time. You can see the cat fight among moms....why your son got 20/20 and mine 18/20....he cannot...I made him do each sum 10 times...and the final dictate....the teacher is partial. The poor little kids never understand why his/her mother is bothered about only 2 marks. That each child has different learning abilities is unacceptable to a Bengali mom, in general. Right from the middle school, kids are sent to teachers subject wise, completely destroying their thinking ability. Why?...Because they have to secure 95% and become a doctor or engineer. Otherwise their future is doomed. Our parents refuse to accept there is only one 1st position in class and only one can get that. The last bencher may not love physics or mathematics but may love painting. That hidden talent dies a natural death due to the illogical expectations.

I was very much a part of all these back then. Once the son was back from the school, at least 10 phone calls were made to and fro  my home....on one single topic...hey how much your daughter/son got...when I was worried about that 2 marks, my son was dying of hunger. Then finally came the ultimatum....from my senior....do not make my son a part of the game...'Commit to memory and vomit'. I want my son to be happy in life. The poor mamma has a lot of dreams and tries to give vocal tonic to her son....when ever daddy is not around.

Besides this craziness, Bengalis are foodies & culturally inclined...we love watching Bergman to Satyajit Ray as much as the masala movies. We do not have money, perhaps that is the reason why our parents fight to make us study well. But we can boast of our cultural inclination that we inherited from the yesteryear's Bengal Intelligentsia. We definitely can boast of that. Again we should be grounded at the present so that the world do not identify Bengalis by a Nobel Prize won by my white bearded heartthrob and by the excellent speech delivered at the Chicago Seminar.

Finally, about 90% of the Bengalis speak miserable Hindi but we still have to speak it!...hahaha...

Oops! I forgot I sat down to write a recipe. Well, paying due respect to our love for potatoes, I am blogging about the recipe of BENGAL EGG CURRY.

INGREDIENTS :

Eggs[preferably duck] : 4
Potato : 1[big]
Onion : 1[big]
Tomato : 1[medium]
Ginger Paste : 1tbsp
Garlic Paste : 1tsp
Cumin Seeds : 2 pinches
Bayleaf : 1
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Salt : As required
Green Chilli : 2
Bengali Garam Masala : 1/4tsp [a bit of cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves dry roasted and powdered]
Sugar : 1/4tsp [optional]
Oil [preferably mustard] : 4tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and boil the eggs with enough water. Add some salt to the boiling water, this helps the shells to come out smoothly.  Make 2-3 slits on the eggs. Apply little salt and turmeric powder to the boiled eggs and mix well.

Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut each into 2 pieces. Apply  little salt and turmeric powder, mix well.
Chop the tomatoes and discard the seeds, wash. Slice the onions. Slit the green chillies.

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the eggs lightly and keep aside. Now fry the potato pieces till light brown.

Temper the remaining oil with cumin seeds and bayleaf. Add the onion slices. Fry till brown. Add the garlic and ginger paste. Fry till the raw smell goes away. Add the tomato pieces and fry till the spice mix separate from the oil. Add the salt, turmeric and chilli powder and saute for 1 minute.

Add the fried potato pieces, mix well and keep covered at lowest heat for 1-2 minute. Now add 1 cup water and cover again. Let it boil till the potatoes are 80% done. Now add the fried eggs and the slitted green chillies. Stir once and cover. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Open cover and add the garam masala powder and 1/4 tsp sugar. Stir well and switch off.

Serve hot in a bed of piping hot steamed rice. Goes very well with roti too!