World Egg Day: Try these two hatke recipes by home chefs

Egg lonvas

East Indian aromas

Bottle masala is a unique blend of 32 mixed spices that's characteristic of the cuisine of the East Indian community. "The aroma and flavour it imparts brings out the best in many dishes," says home chef Chris Kane, who uses the ingredient for egg lonvas, the recipe for which she shares with us. You can source a bottle of the masala by placing an order on her Instagram page, @thesinginghomechef. Speaking about the lonvas recipe, Kane says, "This dish definitely tops my comfort-food list. It's quick and easy to prepare, and versatile enough for all proteins including eggs, paneer, prawn, mutton and buff."

Chris Kane aka The Singing Home Chef

Egg lonvas

Ingredients
>>6 eggs
>>1 tbsp cooking oil
>>1 tbsp ghee
>>1 to 1.5 fresh coconut, finely ground
>>2 large pods of garlic (or as per your taste)
>>6 green chillies
>>2 tbsp bottle masala
>>2 tbsp tamarind soaked in water
>>Salt per taste

Method
In a cooking dish, heat the oil and ghee, and smash and fry the garlic till it browns. Add the chillies. Next, add the bottle masala and coconut with a little water and allow it to cook dry. Then, pour water as per the gravy consistency you like, and allow it to boil on high heat. Add the tamarind water. Let it boil again. Taste for overall seasoning. Drop in a tiny pinch of sugar to balance the taste (not mandatory). Once boiled, reduce the heat to low. Break one egg at a time into this gravy. Break them at a distance from each other. Add a pinch of salt to each spot so that each egg gets seasoned. Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not disturb the eggs. Your delicious egg curry is ready. Serve with steamed rice or pav and an onion-tomato salad.

A steamy dish

The most common egg curry among Bengalis is dimer dalna, a basic home-cooked dish where the egg is boiled and then fried whole before being dipped into the gravy. But home chef Ananya Banerjee, who runs a venture called The Bong Kitchen, shares a more unique recipe where the eggs are steamed, and not boiled or fried. It's called bhapa dimer korma, which translates literally to steamed egg korma.

Bhapa dimer korma

Ingredients:
>>6 eggs
>>1/2 cup onion, chopped
>>2 tsp green chillies, chopped >>1/4 cup green coriander, chopped
>>Salt and pepper to taste

For the curry
>>2 bay leaves
>>1 tsp cumin seeds
>>2 onions
>>2-inch ginger piece
>>3 to 4 garlic cloves
>>2 tomatoes
>>1/2 cup curd
>>1 cup coconut milk
>>1 tsp each of coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder and cumin powder
>>1/2 tsp Bengali garam masala
>>2 to 3 green chillies, slit
>>1/4 cup green coriander, chopped
>>4 tbsp mustard oil
>>Salt and sugar to taste

Chef Ananya Banerjee

Method
Beat the eggs well with onion, green chilli, coriander, and salt and pepper. Grease a baking tray and steam the mix for 20 minutes till the eggs are firm. Take it out, cool it, cut it into the desired shape, and keep aside.

For the curry
Blend the onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, one chilli and curd to make a paste. Put oil in a pan and heat it up; add the bay leaves and cumin seeds; and add the prepared onion paste and saute well. Add the powdered spices (red chilli, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders) and saute till the oil is separated. Add some water, coconut milk, salt and sugar to taste, and bring the gravy to a boil; slide in the egg squares and simmer for three to four minutes. Add the garam masala, green chillies and coriander. Switch off the flame.

Something eggs-tra

These three eateries have launched new menus with egg dishes in them.

Egg akuri with potato furikake at Saltwater Cafe, Bandra, which is part of their Eggscelent menu.
Call: 8657531985

Scrambled eggs and black truffle tostada at Cafe Panama, Lower Parel.
Call: 9988214444

Spicy chicken ramen in a chilli broth with grilled Korean chilli marinated chicken and a soft boiled egg at The Sassy Spoon, Nariman Point.
Call: 9920003500