Thursday, February 22, 2007

Eggstensions

Will suit ovo-vegetarians too, just keep reading, don't let the picture turn you away!



This recipe is mine, he said, as she finished with the camera and put it back in its suede pouch.
It will be duly acknowledged, she said.

So here it is, the spouse’s brainwave! To us, it was a new thing but in general, not really that new.

The vegetarian version

My helper at home would always tell me to break an egg into any vegetable stir-fry that I was making, that it would be “super” – but the idea of mixing up an egg with vegetables never appealed to me. Finally, one day, I asked her to do it for me, she made it with beans and carrots, was it tasty!

Temper the oil with some mustard and cumin seeds, some onion, if you like, put in the veggies (about a cup-and-a-half), season them, let them cook after stir-frying them on 'high', break a couple of eggs into them and scramble. Add some more seasoning and curry powder if you think it's necessary, at this stage.

Somehow, I never repeated it, though, and the recipe stayed dormant in my mind till the other day when the spouse, on an impulse, whipped out a packet of frozen prawns from the freezer, thawed them under running water singing paeans to how this particular meat was oh so simply thawed, and quite without any idea of what shape the dish was going to take, started sautéing the prawns pink. We didn’t have any ginger-garlic paste ready, and neither of us was going to start skinning ginger and garlic and grinding them at that late hour, so he said, shall we break an egg into it and see what it’s like? A bit of hesitation, and then I brought two eggs and cracked them into the pan and scrambled them – and voila, a blog post was born!

Using egg (or vegetables) to stretch the curry is an old habit. If there isn’t enough potato to go around, add some pumpkin. If there isn’t enough meat to go around, add some potatoes. Or simpler still, leave the daughters out and feed those choice morsels of meat to the sons.

Before I can get any more snarky, here's the recipe:

Prawns/shrimp, shelled and deveined - 250 gm
Some salt, chilli powder, curry powder - a pinch, to taste, a teaspoon, a tbsp, take your pick of the amount
Eggs - 2
A bit of coriander
Oil - 2 tsp

Saute the prawns, season with just a little salt and chilli powder till cooked. Break two eggs into the pan, put in a little more salt and chilli powder into the eggs, add the curry powder and mix them up with the prawns, stirring constantly, till they are scrambled moist. Remove from fire, sprinkle chopped coriander. You can add some lime juice for added flavour. (I didn't think of that when we made it.)


Note: The texture of the eggs changes when you re-heat it in the microwave but it's tasty all the same. Sandeepa reminds us that the prawns/veggies made this way can be a good thing to put in fried rice!


Tags:

13 comments:

  1. Ovo-Lacto-vegetarianism!! Man, being a plain vegetarian becoming complicated!;D
    Although I don't cook Prawns,dish looks wonderful if I make that with veggies or chicken strips.Thanks for the recipe.
    This would have been a great entry for Trupti's Family cooking event except she needs your husband's hands in the photo along with a finished product.Is the dish still around?:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loved it Sra, even I have this habit of adding eggs to veggies but not all kinds. Generally add it to veggies like carrots, beans etc.

    You know what you have here is a great base for a quick fried rice with left over rice too. Just toss some rice and a quick lunch is packed for the next day :)

    Thanks to The Spouse. We do acknowledge his culinary skills

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Asha! Yes, isn't it? And there are vegetarians who eat fish, wonder what they are called? Nope, the dish was cleaned out - there wasn't much to start with!
    Sandeepa, am calling the Spouse this minute to tell him to read the comments!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Quick and makes a great one pot meal with some left over rice throw in.

    ReplyDelete
  5. One more Q. to The Spouse. When he uses & you say "Curry Powder" what exactly is it ? I have never used "Curry Powder", that's why I ask. But I had seen a "Madras Curry Powder" at a friend's place once, is that the one ?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Sra, Thanks for visiting my blog :) Well, your pic didn't turn me away, instead i did read the whole post :))I have been hesitant about adding egg to stir fry though I have also heard umpteen times that it tastes good...i guess i will give it a shot now :)

    Shn

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, Sailu, I forgot to mention it but when Sandeepa suggested, I added it to the post.
    Sandeepa, curry powder is nothing but garam masala! Of course, the composition varies from home to home!
    Mishmash, have fun! Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks good sra..will try soon as i like egg in anything...:D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, yum! This looks very delicious. I like all the ingredients!

    Paz

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dish looks simply superb!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Paz, try it out sometime, it's v simple.
    Thanks, Krishnaarjuna!

    ReplyDelete
  12. you have a great recipe in the making! Nice combo.

    ReplyDelete

I moderate all my comments. So if you're a human spammer or a bot that can understand this warning, buzz off, don't waste your time here spamming.