Mughlai Egg curry (also known as Mughlai “Anda curry” ) is a popular egg dish across India. This dish is cooked in the traditional Mughlai style that has roots in the Indian and Persian cultures. The Mughlai style of curries is known for their use of freshly ground spices, saffron, nuts, and cream or yogurt. The texture, ingredients, and spice levels of Mughlai egg curry vary widely across different regions of India.
My recipe for Mughlai Egg curry is mildly spiced and not too creamy but brings out the taste of spices that is appealing to all palates. The main ingredients in this dish are boiled eggs, a combination of freshly ground Indian spices ( Cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise), and gravy of fried onions, tomato paste, cashews and red chilies. You can increase the spice levels by adding green chilies or red chili powder to suit your taste. You can eat egg curry with any type of rice or Indian breads or as a side dish for rice.
We can use the same gravy base for different types of Mughlai curries by replacing eggs with other ingredients like Paneer, Vegetables ( cauliflower, potato, broccoli ), Tofu or meats.
You can refrigerate/freeze the curry without adding the boiled eggs. The boiled eggs can be added when you are ready to eat.
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Mughlai Egg Curry
Description
A Mughlai-style egg dish cooked with aromatic spices, nuts and cream. Mughlai Egg curry is an Indian delicacy that is commonly eaten with roti or rice.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Fresh whole spices
Vegetables
Other Ingredients
Spice powders
Instructions
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Boiling the eggs
- Fill a medium-size saucepan with water until it is 3/4 th full and with enough space for water to boil - the pan should be big enough that water doesn't spill over while boiling.
- Add one teaspoon of salt to the water to prevent the cracking of eggs.
- When the water starts to boil, add the eggs
- The eggs should be completely immersed in the water
- Let the eggs boil for 10 minutes
- Transfer the eggs carefully to a bowl filled with iced water
- Carefully crack the shells and peel the outer shell
- Wash the eggs with clean water to remove any pieces of shell still sticking
- You can use the boiled eggs directly in the curry or you can follow the below optional step
- Optional step of frying the eggs : Dry the eggs with a paper towel and cut them in half. Spread two tsp of oil in a frying pan so as to cover the entire surface of the pan. Lay the eggs facing the flat side downwards. Let them fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes ( keep checking until you see a golden brown color). Then turn over the eggs and fry them on the other side for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Transfer the fried eggs onto a plate
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Prepare the fresh spice powder
- Dry roast the green cardamom, cloves, star anise, and cinnamon for about 5 minutes on medium heat or until you smell the nice aroma from the spices
- Grind the spices using a mortar and pestle into a fine powder (since the quantities are very small, a blender won't help. A mortar-pestle is ideal for small quantities and also helps to release the oils from the spices)
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Prepare the onion - cashew- red chili paste
- Chop the onions into 1-inch cubes
- Take a medium-size frying pan at least 3-4 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter. (We will use the same pan for cooking the egg curry also)
- Keep the pan on medium heat.
- Add half of the cooking oil prescribed in the ingredients section
- Add the onions, cashews, and dried red chilis and fry them for about 5-7 minutes on medium flame, or until the onions start to turn light brown
- Add the freshly ground spice powder (from step-2 above)
- Continue to stir for another 2 minutes on low flame
- The onions should be now semi-transparent and light brown in color
- Transfer the contents from the pan to a plate and let the mixture cool
- When the onion mixture has cooled, grind it into a fine paste using a blender
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Prepare the curry base
- Keep a frying pan on medium heat (Use the same frying pan that we fried the onions in)
- Add the remaining cooking oil
- When the oil gets hot, add the cumin seeds, ginger, and garlic paste. Reduce the heat to low.
- Stir for 1-2 minutes until the raw smell of ginger and garlic disappears
- Add all the spice powders - turmeric, cumin, coriander, Kashmiri red chili, and garam masala powders. Mix well.
- Add the tomato paste and mix well with the spices.
- Cut the green chilis in half and add to the pan. We are adding the green chilis towards the end so as to keep the spice levels low.
- Add the onion- cashew paste prepared in step-3. Also, add the butter now.
- (Optional - if you want a nice Saffron flavor, mash the saffron strings in 2 tablespoons of hot water or milk and add it to the curry)
- Continue stirring on low flame for about 7-8 minutes to let the mixture cook well
- Add salt, kasoori methi, and chopped fresh cilantro.
- Mix well. Taste and adjust the salt and spice levels ( if needed add some more red chili powder)
- Add heavy cream and mix well.
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Serving
- Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.
- Lay the fried eggs on the gravy
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
- You may also add some roasted cashews and cream on the top as an optional step.
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Notes
- Eggs need to be hard-boiled - this will help them stay intact and not break into the curry
- You can refrigerate/ deep freeze the curry without adding the boiling eggs. Add the eggs when you are ready to serve.