BURMESE GOLDEN EGG CURRY

Egg curries are quite common at our home. Hence I have to look for variety in its curries. Doing the same curry everyday gets very monotonous for the cook and also for the family to eat. While surfing the net, I came across this Burmese Golden Egg Curry. What attracted me towards this recipe is the simplicity of it. That is what I love cooking... simple, rustic recipes. This golden egg curry is an adaption from Naomi Duguid's cookbook Burma: Rivers of Flavour. She is a food writer and photographer based in Toronto. She is best known for her cookbooks co-authored with her husband Jeffrey Alford.

There is another reason for picking up this recipe. Bengal had a connection with Burma. In the pre-Independent era lots of Bengalis were settled in Burma, some kind of similarities are there in the cooking. Some kind of cultural and culinary intermingling might have happened then. I have heard a lot of stories about the Bengalis in Burma from my maternal grandfather, but do not remember much now. In our school days I watched a number of Bengali movies of the fifties and sixties which has mention of Bengali lives in Burma, that severe outbreak of plague, people migrating back . Passing through this recipe I really wish to read a proper book on the history of the country. Most of the river water fish we get here comes from Burma including Hilsa, so a connection is there.

While doing up the recipe, I did few changes. I reduced the amount of fish sauce. I feel if someone does not want to use it, can substitute with soya sauce. We are always open to modifications without claiming the authenticity. I did not have shallots too, so I used sliced onions. Let us do the very simple Burmese Egg Curry.

INGREDIENTS :
Egg : 4
Tomato : 2medium[chopped]
Onion : 1medium[authentically shallots]
Garlic : 1tsp [minced]
Green Chilli : 2-3[slitted thinly]
Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Fish Sauce : 1/2 to 1tsp
Salt : As per taste[we are using fish sauce, so accordingly use salt]
Oil : 2-3tbsp[authentically peanut oil]

METHOD :
Boil the eggs in enough water adding some salt. Once done, let cool. Rub with salt and turmeric.

Peel, wash and slice the onion. Wash and chop the tomato. Get the required amount of minced garlic ready.

Heat the oil and fry the boiled eggs till golden. Keep aside. Add the minced garlic to the oil. Fry for 1/2 a minute. Add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown.

Add the chopped tomatoes, slitted green chillies and stir till the tomatoes melt.

Add the remaining turmeric powder, salt, red chilli powder and fish sauce. Stir well. Add a cup of water. Let boil.

Add the fried eggs and cook till the gravy thickens.