Anda mattar ka salan (peas and egg curry)

This matter (peas) and anday (egg) curry is a traditional Indian dish – simple, delicious and pure comfort food. It comes from Zeenat, one of our members who is delivering our online Indian cooking, laughter yoga and mindfulness sessions. The key to the dish she says is making a good shorba – a gravy/sauce made from spices, blended onion, garlic and ginger. The shorba should be smooth with no visible large chunks of tomato and onion, and is usually a shade of brown-red. You can also add cooked cubes of potatoes instead of the eggs for a vegan version. Turmeric has been used in India for thousands of years as a spice and medicinal herb. It has many anti-inflammatory properties, including the potential to lower the risk of heart disease.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped or use 1 tin of tomatoes
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tsp chilli powder, or to taste
• 2 green chillies (called Mirch in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera )
• 1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
• small piece of fresh ginger ( adrak)
• 200g of frozen or fresh peas (mattar)
• 6 eggs (anda)
• A handful of chopped coriander (daniya)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a pot. Once well heated, add the blended paste. Stir continuously to avoid burning or uneven browning.

2. Once the paste is light gold, add cumin seeds. Stir these in for a few moments

3. Add the chopped tomatoes and all the remaining spices. Cook on a low heat for about 7 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down. Add a splash of water and cover with a lid. Allow this to cook for a few minutes.

4. The shorba (gravy/sauce) is ready once you have a smooth paste with few chunks of onion or tomato visible. Add a little water if it is still lumpy.

5. Once your shorba is smooth and ready, add the peas. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 5 mins.

6. Meanwhile, boil your eggs in a separate pot – between 6 and 12 minutes – depending on if you prefer them boiled soft (the shorter time) or hard.  Halve once done (optional).

7. Add the eggs to the shorba and took for 5 minutes to absorb the shorba into the eggs. Sprinkle over half of the chopped coriander.

8. Serve the curry with the halved eggs yolk side up. Garnish with more chopped coriander.