As Time Goes By

Earlier this month, I remembered that it has already been a year since our blogger friend Raji (Miri) of Peppermill passed away. Manisha also mentioned it in her last post and added that she would cook and post something from Raji's blog. That's a fitting tribute for a food blogger and I wanted to join Manisha in remembering this beautiful person who gave us a glimpse into her kitchen and her life for several years. So I spent a few hours re-reading Raji's blog and thinking about her, and about what to make. In the end, I went with something familiar, a curry recipe from her blog that I've made before.

I crave meals of curry and rice as surely as the moon waxes and wanes. Rich curries, heavy with coconut, are part of my childhood Sundays and I recreate them often, in a simpler form, as a supper of egg curry with steamed rice. In fact, one of my earliest posts, nearly 8 years ago was a recipe for Sri Lankan curry powder and an egg curry using the spice. (Yes, I seem to have forgotten all about One Hot Stove's 8th birthday earlier this month.)

Raji's curry recipe is similar to my favorite recipe for egg rassa, but with a little Southern Indian touch of mustard seeds and curry leaves and the tang of tamarind. Here's how I adapted it.

Egg Curry, in Honor of Raji

1. In a pan, dry roast the following very gently, then cool and grind into a powder:
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tbsp. white poppy seeds
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
4-5 peppercorns

2. In a saucepan, heat 2 tsp. oil. Temper it with 1 sprig fresh curry leaves and 1 tsp. mustard seeds.
3. Add 1 large finely chopped onion and fry until golden.
4. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste to taste, and the spice powder made earlier. Fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Add 1/2 cup tomato puree and fry for a few more minutes.
6. Stir in 1 can coconut milk, 1 tsp. tamarind paste and water if necessary to make a curry.
7. Simmer for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the flavors (tangy, salty) as necessary.
8. Add 6 halved hard boiled eggs and garnish with plenty of cilantro.

This curry base is easy enough to make but rewards you with incredible flavor, and would be wonderful with things other than eggs- like vegetables or soy nuggets or even koftas.

There's another recipe from Peppermill that has been on my to-do list for a while- this Punjabi pickle, and there is a link within that post to another pickle recipe by Anita that also looks really good. Now I only have to get my hands on some mustard oil and I'm ready for some pickling.

And while we're still in season for wintry meals like rice and kadhi, I highly recommend Raji's mixed vegetable kadhi. With lots of aromatic seeds in the tempering, and chunks of juicy vegetables cooked into the yogurt base, we enjoy this recipe very much. Well, Raji- or Miri, as I will always fondly think of you- you are missed.