It's Raining Curry! Hallelujah! It's Raining Curry!

I know I've been reticent, but I've got a blog in the works about my recent travels abroad. Bear with me! In the meantime, I thought it might be nice to write in to thank Courtney at Naughty Curry for posting a snippet of one of my blogs! And, I wanted to oblige my best-est friend, known as the famous letter n, by giving the world a little bit o' curry. As a word of caution, the idea of egg plus curry seems a bit strange, I know. But trust me, it's so goooood!

"It's Raining Curry" Egg Curry

the dry spices:
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp shredded (unsweetened) coconut
3 whole peanuts
2 whole almonds
2 whole cashews
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 stick of cinnamon (1/3 if the stick is really big)
1 clove

the wet spices:
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 serrano pepper, coarsely chopped (remove seeds if you'd like a milder taste or add more peppers if you crave the hot-hot!)
1/2 cup water

4 large eggs
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt to taste

instructions:
Hardboil eggs. Peel and cut in half length-wise.

Toast dry ingredients over medium heat until the coconut begins to lightly brown. Transfer to a spice mill and blend until smooth powder. (Note: I use a coffee grinder, which I have specifically set aside for spices. It's not optimal to use it for both coffee and spices as even the mild flavor of coriander in one's java ain't so great.) Add the dry spice powder and all the wet spice ingredients in a food processor and blend until a smooth, watery paste.

Heat vegetable oil in a sauce pan. Add onions and saute on medium heat until translucent. Add tomato. Continue to saute until the tomato becomes soft and begins to lose its shape. Add the spice paste and stir well well. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken a bit, about 2 minutes. Stir in the yogurt and salt to taste. Arrange the eggs with the yolk side up in the sauce, spooning the sauce over the eggs to incorporate the flavors. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with rice. Yum!