Omlettes in a spicy gravy!

Its February already! Before I realized, January is gone. And February usually goes by fast too, since its a shorter month. Overall, it feels like winter is going super fast this year! By march, the hope for Spring starts, and its manageable even if its cold now and then. I can't wait for Spring already. I haven't been in an elaborative cooking mood lately. One reason, I've been busy finishing up my school assignments for the term and I just had the time to manage with simple dinners for a couple of weeks. Another reason, with the depressed spirits of winter, I'm less energized when I get home with no mood to prepare an elaborative dinner. I actually made this dish a while back, I took the picture and had even started writing a post on it, and then I had almost forgotten this recipe in the last few weeks.

I like eggs and they have a respectable place in my cooking :) They are universal and can be part of any menu -- from breakfast to dinner or desserts. Obviously there are numerous egg recipes in Indian cooking too, and I personally enjoy preparing egg dishes at home the Indian way. It's a time-saver whenever I run out of veggies in my fridge. With just a few regular ingredients, I can quickly put together a simple and glorious dish which can be enjoyed with any main dish like rice, rotis, idlis,dosas etc. Here's one recipe that I've grown up with. Omlettes infused with a spicy coconut gravy. Mom use to make this quite often and I still love it to this day. Though she makes quite a few egg curries, this one tops the list. I don't know where she got this recipe from, but this dish has been always there ever since I was a kid.

The fun part is making the mini omlettes. I can enjoy them just like that :) I make a few omlettes separately for my daughter without the chillies and she enjoys them too.

Ingredients:

For Omlettes:

• Eggs: 4
• Onion - 1 medium (finely chopped)
• G.chillies - 3 small (finely chopped)
• Corriander leaves - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

For Gravy:

• Onion - 1 medium
• Garlic - 4 cloves (medium sized)
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Kulambu powder - 1.5 tbsp (you can substitute with 1 tsp chilli powder and 3 tsps of corriander powder)
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 2 tsp
• Shredded Coconut (fresh/frozen) - 1/2 cup
• Cashews - 1 tbsp
• Poppy seeds (kasakasa) - 1 tsp
• Tamarind juice - 1 cup (or Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp)
• Curry leaves and Corriander leaves - as required.

Procedure:

• Soak the cashews and poppy seeds in water for 5 mins.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt until the eggs lose shape and the salt is well mixed.
• Heat 2 tsps of oil in a pan, add the finely chopped onions, green chillies, corriander leaves and salt, fry until the onions turn transparent.
• Add this mixture to the beaten eggs. Now make mini omlettes from this egg mixture. I use my paniyaram pan which has cup shaped dents, so I can make mini omlette balls. If you don't have this pan, you can make mini flat omlettes in a regular pan.
• Cook the omlettes by turning over both sides until they are well cooked. Set them aside.
• Make a smooth paste of the following - Coconut, 1 tsp fennel seeds, soaked cashews and poppy seeds, 1 clove garlic. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, season with mustard seeds , 1 tsp of fennel seeds. When they splutter, add the chopped onion, chopped garlic and curry leaves. Fry for 2-3 mins.
• Add chopped tomatoes, kulambu powder and salt, and saute until tomatoes lose shape.
• Add 3 cups of water and pressure cook the mixture for about 1 whistle. You can also cover and cook in the pan itself for about 12-15 mins until the raw spice smell goes away.
• Now add the coconut paste and tamarind juice. Let it boil for 5 mins.
• Finally add the omlettes and boil in low heat for 5 more mins.
• Garnish with corriander leaves.
• Let it rest for atleast 30 mins before serving.

Enjoy with steaming white rice!