When I woke up this morning, I checked my phone, and saw that a Tweet had popped up overnight:

“I made curried eggs! As usual they look disgusting (my trade mark look) but were actually delish!”

The Tweet was from my friend Anna, and the reason why it was sent overnight is because she has moved to Canada and is now eight hours behind us. I was reminded this by a rather philosophical Facebook status she posted over the weekend:

“I’m not sure if it’s a good thing that the time difference means that whilst I’m still pleasingly boozed, I can read about other people’s hangovers whilst determinedly ignoring my own impending one…or a bad thing, as it exemplifies my subconscious anticipation.”

Impressively erudite for someone ‘pleasingly boozed’.

Anyway, it’s comforting, when someone moves far away, that there’s some sort of consistency in communication. In the Anna’s case, that’s the occasional photo of something she’s been cooking - often something which I posted up here, because she’s a super-supportive friend like that. 

On this occasion though, Anna had cooked Jack Monroe’s recipe for curried egg, substituting the spinach for not-so-Indian tinned sweetcorn! Anyway, it was the perfect reminder that I’d been meaning  to have a go at curried eggs myself. Some months ago I created a board on Pinterest optimistically entitled: “Dishes I WILL Try Out One Day” It featured curried eggs…amongst lots of other things I’ve been wanting to have a go at: whipped lardo, shallot tarte tatin, bresaola, bhapa doin and ginger beer…

Carpe Diem! Today was the day for curried eggs, and I’m sad that it’s taken me so long. I know that hard boiled eggs aren’t for everyone. But I love the texture of the hard white, and the soft yolk that enriched this gently-spiced sauce. I ended up making more of a spiced ratatouille than a curry. Lots of recipes online recommend blitzing the onions to a paste, and adding a lot more liquid. But - unconventional though it may be - I was pretty happy with how this turned out.
A cheap and easy dish, just perfect for a warm springtime lunch.

Thanks Anna! X 

Curried Egg
Serves 2

2 eggs
1 tbsp oil (preferably coconut or rapeseed)
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
generous pinch of salt
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek (optional…definitely preferable)
1 tsp Kashmir chilli
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tomatoes, diced
2 blocks of frozen, chopped spinach
50ml water

1. Soft boil the eggs, 6-7 minutes should do it. When the timer goes, make sure that you remove the eggs from the boiling water, and cool them under a constant stream of cold water to stop the eggs from cooking.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan, and cook the onion until it starts to turn translucent, and then add the garlic to the pan, with a pinch of salt. If needed, add a splash more oil, and then put the mustard seeds, fenugreek chilli and tumeric in the pan. Cook for a minute.

3. Add the diced tomatoes to the onion masala, as well as the spinach and water. Cook for a few minutes.

4. In the meantime, peel the eggs and slice in half. Spoon the curried sauce into the bowl, and put the egg on top. Either enjoy as a dish in its own right, or serve with a slice of bread, naan or roti.