Traditional Anda Curry (Egg Curry)

Every family has it's own take on this delightful preparation. The recipe I am sharing today is my absolute favorite. It has a perfect balance of spice and tang. Not the simplest recipes for egg curry around, but definitely worth all the efforts.
The masala that I use in this curry, is a very traditional coastal masala (Bhajani) that we use at home to prepare chicken or mutton curries. So you can imagine how awesome these simple eggs are going to taste.

I am going to simplify this recipe by breaking it down into two parts. The first part will show you how we make a typical 'Bhajani' at home and the second part will show you how the curry is made using this 'Bhajani'.

These cold winter days make this dish even more desirable. So get your aprons on and dive in!

Level: Medium
Serves: 4 to 6 people
Source: Aai

Ingredients:
Bhajani (1 portion)
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut OR 1/4 cup dry grated coconut
3/4 cup onions, roughly chopped
7 peppercorns
4 cloves
1.5 inch cinnamon stick
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tblsp oil

Method:
Step 1 - In a flat pan, heat the oil on medium power. Add the peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon stick and coriander seeds. Saute these spices till the coriander seeds turn brownish. Take them out of the oil and place them in a plate to cool off.

Step 2 - In the same oil, add the onions and stir fry continuously on medium-high heat till they turn brown all over.

Step 3 - Once the onions get properly browned, turn the heat down to medium and add the grated coconut and saute continously till the whole mixture gets a deep brown color. Do not let this mixture burn. Add the spices from Step 1. Mix everything together for a minute and remove this mixture onto a plate to cool down.

Step 4 - Grind this mixture in a blender with as little water as needed to form a smooth paste.

This is your basic 'Bhajani' or Coastal Masala !

Tips: The color of your curry is dependent on the color of this bhajani mixture. So make sure you roast the ingredients really well.

Ingredients:
Anda Curry:
4 hard boiled eggs, slit vertically into two
1 portion Bhajani (recipe above)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1.5 tblsp oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 pinch asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilly powder, or to taste
3/4 tsp jaggery
1 tsp tamarind pulp
Salt to taste
Coriander to decorate

Method:
Step 1 - Heat oil in a large flat pot. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the asafoetida, turmeric powder and onions. Saute till the onions turn light brown.

Step 2 - Add the red chilly powder, jaggery and tamarind pulp. Saute well. As we have used less oil, your spices might start burning. Sprinkle some water into your pan to prevent burning.

Step 3 - Add the bhajani paste and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and saute for 5 - 6 mins. At this point the mixture will start oozing out oil. Add 2.5 cups of water. The curry will be very thin now. Turn the heat to low and let this curry boil for 10-12 mins or till it thickens to your desired consistency. Adjust the taste at this point. The curry needs to be spicy with a very slight hint of sweet (jaggery) and sour (tamarind).

Step 4 - Just before serving, slide in the hard boiled eggs and sprinkle some chopped coriander.

Serve hot with some Indian paav or steamed rice.

If this doesn't warm up your cold winter nights, I don't know what will !

Tres Leches Cake

'Tres leches cake' or 'Three milk cake' is a cake soaked in three kinds of milk - Evaporated milk, Condensed milk and Whole milk. This moist cake is so easy yet so impressive! Perfect for big crowds and almost always a stunner! 

When I first started hunting for recipes of this cake, I was worried the final product would be too heavy or too sweet. I was also a little apprehensive as it sounded too easy to be true. But when I finally did decide to give it a go, I was in love all over again! :) It was perfectly moist, perfectly sweet just .....PERFECTLY PERFECT!

Most of the desserts I cook for my parties at home are almost always just semi-homemade. I do not have the time or energy to go all traditional and super precise after I spend so much time cooking the main meal. This recipe too starts with a box cake mix. I generally use the classic white cake mix for this recipe. I find it much more airy and light compared to the other cake mixes. 

For the topping, I whip the cream at home as I the try to keep the sugar content in it quite low. This way it perfectly balances the sweetness in the cake. But if you think you don't have time for that, some cool whip or ready made whipped cream spray cans work just fine. 

Most of the tres leches cakes are topped with a maraschino cherry. They look the cutest, but I just do not like the taste. It spoils the dessert for me as you expect it to be sweet and it turns out to be weirdly synthetic. So I generally top my cake with some freshly cut strawberries or blueberries or raspberries just before serving. You could also toast some nuts or some coconut and sprinkle it on top of the cake. Just let yourself go crazy with the toppings here.

So without further delay, let us get to the recipe.

Level: Easy

Serves: 10 - 12 people

Ingredients:

For the base:

1 classic white box cake mix

1/4 cup of whole milk (I use the 2% I usually have on hand)

1 14 oz can of condensed milk

1 12 oz can of evaporated milk

For the frosting:

1.5 cups whipping cream

4 tblsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Cocoa for sprinkling

Strawberries to decorate

Method:

Step 1 - Bake the cake as per the package instructions. Bake it in the same pan in which you plan to serve the dessert. Your pan should have higher sides as you will have to pour the milk mixture into the cake once it bakes and you do not want the milk to over flow from the top. Once your cake is baked, leave it for cool for 5 mins.

Step 2 - As the cake is cooling, let us get our milk mixture ready. Mix the milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk in a bowl. Stir well to make sure the condensed milk does not settle at the bottom. It is that simple. Keep aside.

Step 3 - After you have let the cake cool for 5 mins from Step 1, take a knife or fork and slowly poke the entire cake well all the way to the bottom. You might think you are destroying the cake, but remember the places this cake does not get poked, does not get the liquid goodness we will be pouring into it. So don't be too gentle!

Step 4 - When you are done piercing holes and the cake is still warm, pour the milk mixture all over the cake. (don't forget to stir the milk a little before you start pouring). At this point you will realize why I was stressing on a pan with a little high sides. The liquid will first pool on top and you might think it is a little too much. But the warm cake will soak up all the liquid in a matter of mins. Now let the soaked cake cool down completely. 

Step 5 - Let us work on the frosting now. In a large clean bowl add the whipping cream and vanilla essence. Start whisking this cream mixture. When the cream starts frothing, slowly add the powdered sugar one tsp at a time, continuously whisking. Beat the cream till it forms stiff peaks. i.e. when you take the beaters out, the cream stuck on your beater should hold shape. These are called stiff peaks.

Step 6 - Smear the ready whipped cream with a butter knife or a spatula all over the cooled soaked cake from Step 4. Try to spread it around as evenly as possible covering the entire top of your cake. 

We are done!

Just before serving, I cut out a piece and placed it on my serving plate. I sprinkled the top with some cocoa powder and I placed a beautiful red strawberry beside it. Doesn't it look pretty? I sure think it does!

Hope you enjoy this juicy goodness as much as my family and friends do!

Tips:

If you are having a tough time finding the classic white box cake mix, go ahead and use the yellow cake mix. The cake may be a a little denser, but it doesn't compromise the taste.

If you think you are not up for whipping the cream yourself, go ahead and use some cool whip or whipped cream spray can to top off the cake.