EoMEoTE #7: Egg Onion Float

Here's to the end of the month of May! It was a hectic, awful month for me work-wise (though I did get to take a work-related trip to the Canadian Rockies) so I am looking forward to a more relaxed month ahead. Travel is all well and good, but hey, give me a nice weekend at home any day!

As usual, Cook Sister is hosting the monthly eggy carb-fest and this month's theme is limericks so what are we waiting for?

You know how it is...

...there are days when you want to sup and hop into bed
but the sight of your empty 'fridge fills you with dread
Well, don't stand around and mope
make some Egg-Onion Float
Instead of hungry, you will end up over-fed!

:)

Egg Onion Float is a recipe devised by my parents decades ago when they were both medical students in Bombay. Well, times have changed but we all love the recipe very much and now it is my turn as a hungry graduate student to use it often and with great results. This is thrown together with pantry ingredients, quantities can be easily eye-balled.

Egg Onion Float

1. Heat some oil in a skillet. 
2. Saute some onions with ginger and garlic. 
3. Add salt to taste, red chili flakes for a spicy kick, turmeric for some color, tomato puree and ketchup and stir around. 
4. Pat down the mixture, make wells in it and break an egg in each well. 
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook till eggs are done as you like 'em. 

I ate these with rotis (Indian flatbread) but any kind of bread works great !

Happy June, everyone!

The Spice Files: Focus on CURRY LEAVES

Curry leaves (kadipatta in Hindi and Marathi) are one of my favorite spices. For the sake of fresh curry leaves, I frequently trek to Queens to the Indian store rather than do without them. Curry leaves should not be mistaken for bay leaves, these two are worlds apart. Curry leaves add a fresh citrusy fragrance to food that is simply unmistakeable.

I generally buy fresh leaves, pat them dry and store them in the refrigerator for a few weeks. They keep quite well and hold flavor much better than when they are frozen or dried. A friend mentioned that curry leaves can be grown by sticking the stalks into a pot of soil. Really? Well, I potted my curry-stalks today and shall keep you updated about whether they take root and grow :)

The recipe I have chosen to showcase curry leaves is a very simple cabbage subzi. Subzi is the general name for dry vegetable stir-fries. These can be eaten with roti/bread or with rice and lentils. To increase the protein content of my vegetarian diet, I often make subzis with added lentils or peanuts as shown in this recipe.

Cabbage Subzi

Ingredients
1 small head cabbage, washed and shredded (about 6-8 cups)
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup hulled chana dal, soaked for 30 minutes (optional)
10-12 curry leaves
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Handful of minced cilantro
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. oil
salt to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds, let them splutter and then add onion and curry leaves. 
2. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat till onions have softened. 
3. Add turmeric, red pepper flakes, salt to taste and stir for a few seconds. 
4. Add the cabbage and chana dal and stir around to coat them with spices. 
5. Add 1/4 cup of water and let the cabbage simmer for 10-15 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. The subzi is done when the cabbage and chana dal is tender and the preparation is almost dry. Garnish with cilantro and dress with lemon juice just before serving.