Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Dim er Dalna .. The Bong Egg Curry

Sis in Law said the other day, ‘Ekhane hasher dim i pawa jaaye naa, koto din Dim er Dalna khaini’ (We can never find Duck Eggs here; have not eaten Egg Curry for so long). Yes that’s how we Bongs are. Even when we eat Egg Curry we need the fattiest Eggs of the lot, Duck Eggs. You normally do not get these gets all year round, mostly around winter; these are available that too not all stores keep them. Back home, Babai (My Father) gets them from some vendor only he knows of. I also remember seeing these little girls carry the precious oversized pearls to our house to sell in a little cage like box.  Gone are those days, those chilly winters, Babai rushing to get these Eggs whenever I craved for them, gone is the little girl and the Duck Eggs too!!!


During our first hunt for Duck Eggs, we found some ‘Country Eggs’ at Reliance Mart and bought them without realising those were actually just plain Country Eggs, ‘Dishi Murgir Dim in Bangla’ !! We started hunting again and finally our prayers were answered by this lovely Parsi store, Dorabjee’s. This time we made sure it read 'Country Duck Eggs', they really looked like these big pearls & we have not been so happy in a long time. :D


Once we reached home, I boiled a couple to check if the yolk was really Orange & YAY, it was!! So now I had to make the Dim er Dalna that dear Sis-In-Law had embedded in my mind, which we were longing for since the mention of it.



Here is what you will need to make it:


1.       Eggs – 4 – hard boiled.
2.       Potatoes – 2, cut into quarters.
3.       Onions – 2 – medium – chopped.
4.       Tomatoes – 2 medium – chopped.
5.       Bay leaf – 1
6.       Green Cardamom – 3
7.       Cinnamon – 1“ stick
8.       Garlic – 4 cloves – grated
9.       Ginger – 1’ piece – grated
10.   Green Chillies – chopped or slit to taste
11.   Green Peas – a handful
12.   Turmeric – ½ + ½ + 1 tsp
13.   Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
14.   Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
15.   Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
16.   Salt to taste
17.   Sugar to taste
18.   Mustard Oil


Method:


-          Heat Oil in a Pan
-          Smear the already cut Potatoes with ½ tsp turmeric and salt and sauté them and set aside.



-          Shell the hard boil Eggs, smear with ½ tsp turmeric and sauté them lightly in the same Pan and set aside.



-          In the Oil, add the Bay leaf, Green Cardamoms and Cinnamon stick, let them crackle.
-          Add Onions with a little bit of Sugar and let them caramelize.



-          Add the turmeric powder
-          Add the tomatoes – cook for 5 minutes, cover and cook on high, stir once a while.
-          Add all the Ginger Garlic Paste and cook till the raw smell goes away.
-          Add all the dry Masalas & Salt and keep mixing.




-          I add the Potatoes at this stage as they take a long time to boil here.



-          Add the Green Peas & cook of a couple of minutes.

-          Add some water, when the Potatoes are mostly done add the Eggs, let it simmer for a few minutes. When the gravy reaches the desired consistency, turn off the stove.



-          Can be eaten with both Rice & Rotis.

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