Ahh this curry! It reminds me of my college time when I used to live with a bunch of girls in a PG. One of them was from Srinagar and was a total foodie. Binging on a new snack every other day. Ironically, she knew nothing about cooking herself. Which was slightly weird for us in those days when almost everyone knew at least some bits of kitchen/cooking.
Click here to see some more easy recipes for bachelors/singletons.
She was a unique case though. Always perky and peppy, cracking the funniest of jokes and laughing on them like a hyena. So one day she got bored of eating the food we cooked and cried for some Kashmiri dish. Since there was none in our vicinity, she brought up this brilliant idea to cook something fantastic for the rest of us! Which was honestly a scary feeling since she didn’t even know what vegetable is called what in Hindi or english.
After a few phone calls to her Mum and negotiations with us on what to cook, she decided to make an Egg curry. Hmm.. that should be easy, we all thought. So we helped her out in chopping and stuff, then guiding in the kitchen about whats kept where and then the dishes, pots etc. So basically all she did was just stir the curry at the end, but it’s the thought that counts, isnt it?
Anyway, so at the end the curry had turned out to be absolutely delicous. The taste was very different than the usual egg curries we had been eaten all our lives. With very basic spices and minimum ingredients, this curry was unique in character and taste. Click here for more Egg recipes.
I am not sure though if it is really the authentic Kashmiri curry since half of the ingredients we couldn’t manage to transalte from Kashmiri to English/Hindi. So we just made guesses based on the description her Mum had provided. But the end result was awesome neverthless. And it was ready very quickly so a total win that is. Click here to see more recipes under 30 minutes.
Tip to get the perfect hard boiled eggs- in a pan, immerse the eggs till ¾ height and add a pinch of salt to it. Bring the water to rolling boil and then turn the gas to low, cook further for 3-5 minutes and turn off the gas. Leave the eggs in the hot water for about 8-10 minutes. Take them out and transfer to a bowl full of cold water, leave for a minute there and then peel. This process ensures the eggs get peeled off quickly and smoothly.
You wouldn’t believe this curry has no onion in it. I guess that’s why the taste is so unique. Its plain tomatoes, garlic and green chilies with just turmeric and other basic spices. The absense of any heavy ingredient like cream, yogurt or milk has made this curry a real treat for the tastebuds and palate. The use of cardamom and saffron bring in that fragrant flavour that is hard to resist.
Also, there was one thing unique which my friend did and that was to add some extra mustard oil just before turning off the gas finally. So there was some element of undercooked or rather raw mustard oil in the curry which fetched in great taste and texture. Since not everyone likes the raw aroma of mustard oil, you could skip this if you want.
If you love eggs, you would love this Kashmiri style egg curry. We had it with plain steamed rice at that time but this curry would serve best with a lightly spiced rice dish like lemon rice or coconut rice etc. since there is not much gravy in this curry, it would also go good with any Paratha or Naan.
This is quite a simple and easy dish, with very less physical work required from your side. most of the time, its just tomatoes getting cooked with spices on their own and you could do something else aside.
Well, do write to me if you try this recipe and it comes out to be good. Even if not, I would love to hear from you. Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see more of these recipes and inside fun.
Nutritional info-> Rich in antioxidants from tomatoes + high in protein from eggs

Eggs in Tomato Gravy : Kashmiri Style
Ingredients
- kg About 1 tomatoes chopped rougly
- 5- 6 eggs
- 2 tbsp Mustard oil + 1 tsp extra
- 2-3 cardamom pods
- A small pinch of saffron threads
- ½ tsp cumin seeds turmeric each
- 1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
- 1 ½ tsp red chilli powder or to taste
- ½ tsp of Garam Masaala- optional
- A pinch of black pepper- optional
- 2-3 green chillies chopped small
- 7-8 garlic pods crushed and minced
- leaves A few cilantro sprigs for garnish coriander
Instructions
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Hard boil the eggs as per the procedure stated above in my notes. Peel them and poke them at places using a fork or knife. Keep aside.
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Pound the cardmom pods in a mortar pestle . Keep aside.
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Soak saffron in 1 tsp of water and keep aside.
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Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of Mustard oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, when they splutter, add the pounded cardamom pods. Fry for just 3-4 seconds then add the tomatoes, green chilies and minced garlic altogether. Mix well and let it cooked for 3-5 minutes like that.
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Then add all the spices except garm masala and black pepper, if using. Mix well and let this cook for good 15-20 minutes, stirring a few times in between. The tomatoes need to be cooked properly so take more time if required.
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Once the tomatoes are all mushy and cooked, add about ½ cup of water and mix. Then place the peeled and poked hard boiled eggs carefully and fold these gently to get them covered with the tomato sauce. Cover and cook this curry further for about 5-7 minutes.
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Finally, add that extra tsp of mustard oil, garam masala and saffron soaked in water. Gently mix the curry, taking care not to break the eggs completely. They would get cracks within though and that is ok since the tomato paste needs to sink inside to derive the best of flavours. Let it cook further for just a few minutes till it reaches your desired consistancy. Adjust the seasoning if required and add black pepper if using.
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Turn off the gas, garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice or roti.
Recipe Notes
Personally, I keep the spice level of this curry a bit on the hotter side since tomatoes bring in a lot of sweetness which I want tpo balance out. you could adjust the red chili powder and black pepper as per your taste
Garam masala is completely optional here and is my personal addition. My friend did not use that in her style of Kashmiri egg curry
I prefer to leave the eggs in the curry for about half an hour total (includes the time after turning off the gas) so the flavours get absorbed properly inside.
More rich curries you might like:
Just mouthwatering…looks so easy to prepare and delicious!
this is my all time favorite recipe nupur!
thnX for the info abt nigella seeds
Awesome gravy… love with chapathis!!
Krithi’s Kitchen
Event: Serve It –
Festival Potluck
Yummy hot gravy…mouthwatering..
Vibrant and tasty.
Vardhini
Event: Halloween Fiesta
wow wow wat a tempting gravy,luks yum…
wow…this looks so inviting…lovely recipe too!!!
I am back to blogging…just checkout my space 🙂
lovely recipe…so simple and easy to make with readily available things…
hey nupur.. a different recipe… the colors look so good… will make this for hubby as he likes eggs…
looks so yum…perfect with rotis..thanks for linking with my event
im just curious if you have any contact with that friend and want to see if shes into cooking now 🙂
i love to egg curry for havent made one in a long time. definitely going to keep this in mind.
Ha ha Dixya. Yeah! I do speak to her sometimes. She is still the same. Working and a mother of one, got a cool husband who cooks for her. Its funny how we think people wouldnt survive a day without the basic skills, but they do great in their lives! 🙂
Thanks for dropping by dear! Yes, egg curries are the best in winters.