Monday, February 08, 2010

Egg Salad, Indian Style

Many weekends, you will find V and me sitting huddled at a table with 6 other people, in a school gym or church meeting hall or some such venue, trying to answer really random questions in a trivia fundraiser. It is a very St. Louis thing, apparently.

Trivia games are fueled by the steady consumption of soda and popcorn (free! from the sponsors!) and whatever snacks the competitors bring to the table. Trivia nights combine my two favorite things, (a) trying new recipes on unsuspecting friends, and (b) justifying my hours and hours of mindless TV-watching by being able to flawlessly answer questions about important personalities like the Balloon Boy and OctoMom.

I try to bring snacks that have some nutritional value and that are a somewhat OK substitute for a proper dinner. This weekend, I made egg salad with an Indian touch. This recipe was just something I made up as I went along, but it was surprisingly successful and the bowl was scraped clean at the trivia table.

Egg Salad, Indian Style


1. Hard boil 6 large eggs. I use Kalyn's method for perfectly cooked eggs every time. Peel the eggs and cut each one into 6-8 chunks.

2. As the eggs boil, get the rest of the ingredients ready. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a pan and saute 1 medium onion, diced finely until it is translucent.

3. Add the following and saute for a few seconds:
1 heaped tsp. ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. red chilli powder (or to taste)
1 tsp. Kitchen King masala (or garam masala)
salt to taste

4. Stir in 2 chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned) and saute the onion mixture until it is quite dry. Let it cool.

5. In a bowl, mix the following with a gentle touch:
Chopped eggs
Onion mixture
2-3 tbsp. mayonnaise (or sour cream or thick yogurt)
1-2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Minced cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

6. Sprinkle paprika on the egg salad for a bright accent.

Serve with baguette slices or whole grain crackers. This would also be an excellent filling for sandwiches or pita pockets. I know I will be making this often for picnics in summer.

Dale's Tales


Dale's tip for staying toasty in winter: Position yourself strategically and enjoy two heat sources at one time, sunshine on your front end and heat from the radiator on your rear end!

I'll be back with a simple soup later in the week. See you then!

28 comments:

  1. Gorgeous egg salad! Never have had tried it. Dale, how r u? :)

    btw, i love and read Zen Habits too. Leo has a great writing style. :)

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  2. Hey! that salad looks awesome, I do like the western egg salad, but something's always amiss, and now I know it was the spice!

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  3. this one is awesome nupur! I always make this with soup and garlic bread.I add whisked light sour cream instead of mayo.

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  4. Why do you do this???? Now I am craving egg salad!! (and I still have a while before I go home)..

    What I mean to say is- this looks deelicious..:) I am a huge fan of egg salad and egg salad sandwiches.

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  5. Trivia night sounds super fun!

    This egg salad looks like it has way more pizazz than any that I've ever seen. Beautiful!

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  6. The salad looks great. I have never tried an egg salad before. May be I'll give this one a shot. Can you think of any substitute to mayo?

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  7. Sonia- Yes, the posts on zen habits often give me timely reminders to slow down and be a little more mindful. Dale says he is well, getting ready for his last walk of the day :)

    Ambika- I like the usual egg salad too, but often find it bland and eggy, and the spices fix both problems!

    Preeti Kashyap- Oh yes, sour cream is a great substitute; I updated the recipe to include that option for those who don't use mayo.

    Lavanya- Sorry, sorry, come over and I'll feed you egg salad OK :D I am a fan of egg salad too!

    Joanne- Trivia are super fun 9 times out of 10, but there are occasional dud ones with really boring rounds!

    Amruta- Sure, sour cream or thick yogurt would work well as substitutes for mayo; I edited the recipe to add those options.

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  8. HI.......Nupur
    Lovely post and great egg salad....the clicks so good that its too tempting for words.....
    Btw...Dale's philosophy is spot on...
    one query-can we use Chaat Masala if we dont have Kitchen King Masala?

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  9. Wow, egg salad looks delicious, Nupur! very interesting mix of ingredients.. I would love to taste this on a baguette. I am off to explore your book page now.

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  10. Wow Nupur!! This one is an absolute must-try. I love the idea of putting on it little baguette slices as an appetizer. My hubby LOVES eggs - he will be thrilled if I make this. Thanks!

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  11. This recipe is just what I needed for my boiled eggs! Thanks! :)

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  12. I had the no masala Egg Salad, loved that too so this seems more interesting !

    Bookmarked !

    Say "Hello" to Dale :)

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  13. This is beautiful, and healthy. I love your blog, and often look for recipes to try. I make an egg salad Indian-style, but cheat by mixing in some hot-chili pickle and a touch of Brinjal, along with very thin slices of cucumber for added texture. Mixing the pickles with mayo or thick yogurt first makes it easy to mix with the cooked potatoes and eggs. Next time I will cook up the spices myself, as you do!

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  14. That is one egg salad recipe that I actually love to try. Though I love eggs, I keep away from egg salads but this one is different with all those flavors melding in.

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  15. I love the sound of this combination! Saving the recipe, and thanks for the mention of my hard-boiled egg post!cuoin

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  16. thats a perfect accompaniment for garlic bread...I make a different version. will also try this sometimes.

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  17. Great salad Nupur! Egg salads are not usually my favorite but this one looks appetizing enough for me to make!

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  18. Oooh this is one egg salad I would love. I love the splash of red there :)

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  19. Rujuta- My own feeling is that chaat masala might be too tangy, but you could try and see if you like it.

    PJ- It was unexpectedly delicious :) I love it when experiments work out!

    Priya- Oh egg lovers will love this recipe! I hope you enjoy it.

    Nikita- Thanks!

    Kanchan- Hope you get a chance to try it! Dale says hello (sleepily, he is just yawning and waking up).

    rjaffer- I love your idea of mixing in some pickle for instant flavor! I also love the addition of cucumber for crunch, will try that next time I make this. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

    indosungod- Yes, this is not as eggy as some of the deli egg salads can be.

    Kalyn- Your technique really works for perfect eggs! Thanks for sharing it.

    Sayantani- How do you make your version?

    notyet100- yes, it is fairly quick.

    Sangeetha- You might like this version, not as bland as the usual.

    Bong Mom- The splash of red added a punch of flavor :)

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  20. Cant take my eyes from the salad, looks awesome..

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  21. I love egg salad, but never tried it the indian way, and this recipe is so easy! And so colorful too! Thanks. As for Dale, he looks so warm and content sitting in his spot! Such a simple idea, why didn't I think of it before?. Stay warm Dale :)

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  22. Wasn't there a link to marathi A-Z recipe index on this blog. What happened to it? I was looking for the regular amti recipe ...

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  23. Priya- Thanks!

    Namita- This recipe really is simple and favorful. Dale is quite warm, snuggled into his bed at the moment and snoring softly :)

    Kunal- The easiest way to find a recipe is to use the search box (top of the side-bar), type in "amti" there and you'll get the recipe right away.

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  24. Nupur, I love your blog. For perfectly hardboiled eggs each time try the pressure cooker method. 3 minutes at full pressure, with the eggs just covered with water. Perfectly yellow yolks each time.
    Sushama

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  25. Hi Nupur,
    tried ur recipe for egg salad indian way.
    used sour cream instead of mayo, garam masala, added combo of cilantro and parsley and 1 tbsp of sweet relish.
    My 6 year old loved it sooo much he wanted me to pack it for his school lunch next day :)
    We had the salad with dosa and sambhar,odd/weird combo(I know) but we swept the bowl clean, that says it.... ;) keeper recipe.!!

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  26. this sounds amazing and i can't wait to try it! couple questions, though:

    1. how many people is this meant to serve?

    2. where can i find ginger-garlic paste? is it acceptable to just do a half-and-half mix of minced garlic and minced ginger?

    thanks so much!

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  27. I love the salad. looks so good :-) served on crispy bread, that is just my thing :-)

    so glad to be back here.

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