This egg curry is a traditional South Tamilnadu special, the paruppu muttai aanam – eggs poached in a lentil gravy. This dish is usually served for breakfast with idli .
Recipe Courtesy: Faiza at https://www.instagram.com/earthandethics/
Faiza shared this recipe some time back. Actually, I pestered her. The truth is that I did not have to pester her a lot. She was sweet enough to share her family recipe for this classic egg curry with me. This recipe is from Faiza’s grandma. She calls this curry as Muttai aanam. The unique thing about the recipe is that the eggs are poached in a masoor dal gravy. A very unique everyday preparation made for breakfast and is usually served with idli. Here are the things you can buy online for making this recipe. Deep Frypan with Stainless Steel Lid https://amzn.to/3M1OyyK Indian Sesame oil https://amzn.to/3LWdgRb High Curcumin Lakadong Turmeric Powder https://amzn.to/3zeG2cW
Here is the video of how to make Mysore Paruppu Muttai Aanam | Masoor Dal Poached Egg Curry Recipe Print
2 tablespoon Indian sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 sprigs curry leaves 2 green chillies, chopped 1 cup onions, chopped 1/2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste 1 cup tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped (divided) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 2 teaspoon coriander powder 1/2 cup masoor dal 2.5 cups water 4 eggs
Heat oil in a pan. I have used sesame oil for making this recipe today. But, any vegetable oil will work just fine. Add in little mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and some chopped green chillies. Saute the herbs and spices for a few seconds in oil so they turn aromatic and the mustard seeds start to crackle. Add in the finely chopped onions to the pan. Saute the onions for about 3-4 minutes till the onions turn soft and slowly start to brown. Once the onions are starting to change color, add in the ginger garlic paste, finely chopped tomatoes and some chopped coriander leaves. Mix everything well to combine. Add salt to season the curry. Add about a teaspoon in the beginning and we can always adjust the seasoning later if need be. Mix again so the salt coats the tomatoes. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes till the tomatoes are slightly mushy. Our tomatoes should be well cooked by this time. Take a potato masher and mash the tomato mixture. This is a cool trick to get a nice creamy gravy. The big bits of onion and tomato will become mushy and the mixture will become thick. At this stage, add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Adjust the red chilli powder according to your taste. Remember that we also added green chillies for spice. Saute the spices for a minute. Add in half a cup of washed masoor dal to the pan. We also colloquially call this as mysore dal or mysore paruppu in Tamilnadu. Mix well to combine. Add about 2 cups of water at this stage. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the lentils should be cooked well. Take a small piece of the cooked lentil and try to press them between your fingers. The lentil should hold its shape but is soft and cooked well. Add little water at this stage if the curry is thick. Mix well. Let it come to a boil. Once the curry is boiling, add in the eggs. I like to break the eggs in a small cup and then add it to the pan. Breaking the eggs directly in the pan somehow changes the shape and texture of the poached eggs. Also you don’t want to be searching for any accidental shell that might fall into the gravy while breaking the eggs directly onto the pan. This method is easy and works every time. Cover the pan and cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the eggs should be poached and our curry is ready. Gently try moving the eggs in the pan to make sure that it’s not stuck to the bottom. Be gentle on the eggs so they do not break. Finally sprinkle with coriander leaves.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 30m
2 tablespoon Indian sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 sprigs curry leaves 2 green chillies, chopped 1 cup onions, chopped 1/2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste 1 cup tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped (divided) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 2 teaspoon coriander powder 1/2 cup masoor dal 2.5 cups water 4 eggs
Heat oil in a pan. I have used sesame oil for making this recipe today. But, any vegetable oil will work just fine. Add in little mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and some chopped green chillies. Saute the herbs and spices for a few seconds in oil so they turn aromatic and the mustard seeds start to crackle. Add in the finely chopped onions to the pan. Saute the onions for about 3-4 minutes till the onions turn soft and slowly start to brown. Once the onions are starting to change color, add in the ginger garlic paste, finely chopped tomatoes and some chopped coriander leaves. Mix everything well to combine. Add salt to season the curry. Add about a teaspoon in the beginning and we can always adjust the seasoning later if need be. Mix again so the salt coats the tomatoes. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes till the tomatoes are slightly mushy. Our tomatoes should be well cooked by this time. Take a potato masher and mash the tomato mixture. This is a cool trick to get a nice creamy gravy. The big bits of onion and tomato will become mushy and the mixture will become thick. At this stage, add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Adjust the red chilli powder according to your taste. Remember that we also added green chillies for spice. Saute the spices for a minute. Add in half a cup of washed masoor dal to the pan. We also colloquially call this as mysore dal or mysore paruppu in Tamilnadu. Mix well to combine. Add about 2 cups of water at this stage. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the lentils should be cooked well. Take a small piece of the cooked lentil and try to press them between your fingers. The lentil should hold its shape but is soft and cooked well. Add little water at this stage if the curry is thick. Mix well. Let it come to a boil. Once the curry is boiling, add in the eggs. I like to break the eggs in a small cup and then add it to the pan. Breaking the eggs directly in the pan somehow changes the shape and texture of the poached eggs. Also you don’t want to be searching for any accidental shell that might fall into the gravy while breaking the eggs directly onto the pan. This method is easy and works every time. Cover the pan and cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the eggs should be poached and our curry is ready. Gently try moving the eggs in the pan to make sure that it’s not stuck to the bottom. Be gentle on the eggs so they do not break. Finally sprinkle with coriander leaves.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 30m
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/mysore-paruppu-muttai-aanam/
Chicken Mappas | Traditional Kerala Chicken Curry Made With Coconut Milk. Traditional Kerala Special Chicken Mappas Recipe. Recipe adapted slightly from Mrs.K.M Mathew Cookbook.
We are great fans of the Kappa Chakka Kandhari restaurant situated in Koramangala, Bengaluru. One of our favorite repeat orders here is the duck mappas served with vattayappam. The food by Chef Regi Mathew is phenomenal. My son loves the mappas here.
This is my homestyle version of the mappas but made with chicken as sourcing duck is a little bit difficult in this season. We do get Kuttanadan ducks for a limited period during Christmas time. If you have access to good duck meat, do try this recipe with duck as the fat from the meat beautifully flavours the curry. Chicken works well too.
Here are the things you can buy online for making this chicken mappas Earthen Kadai/Clay Pot https://amzn.to/35H6dfF Heavy Duty Indian Mixie https://amzn.to/3GptNKD Small Cast Iron Tadka Kadai / Pan https://amzn.to/3HFTJ6f Single Piece Teak Wood Chopping Board https://amzn.to/3gxkG08 Cold Pressed Natural Virgin Coconut Oil https://amzn.to/3JcsMr8
Here is the video of how to make chicken mappas
For the Chicken Mappas Spice Powder
2 cardamom 4 cloves 2 inch piece cinnamon (cassia) 1/2 of a star anise 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon black pepper powder 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1.5 tablespoon coriander powder
Other Ingredients for Chicken Mappas
3 tablespoon coconut oil 1.5 cups onions, sliced 2 sprigs curry leaves 2 inch piece ginger, julienne 5 cloves garlic, chopped 5 green chillies 1 teaspoon salt 750 grams chicken, bone-in 1 teaspoon vinegar 2 cups thin coconut milk 1 cup thick coconut milk
Tempering Chicken Mappas
1 tablespoon ghee 5 shallots, sliced 2 sprigs curry leaves
First, we shall make a spice powder for the mappas. Take a small chutney jar to grind. Add in a couple of pieces of cardamom. No need to roast the spices before grinding as we will fry them in oil later. Add in some cloves, a small piece of cinnamon, half of a star anise, half a teaspoon of fennel seeds, a teaspoon of black pepper powder, a teaspoon of turmeric powder and coriander powder. Grind everything to a fine powder. We add the powders along with whole spices so it grinds evenly to a fine texture. Grind everything to a really fine powder. Set aside.
I have used a clay pot for making the chicken mappas. Heat coconut oil in the pan. Let the oil become hot. Add in the onions. I have sliced the onions thin for this recipe. Add in the curry leaves, Add in the ginger. Ginger has been cut into thin strips also called julienne, add in the chopped garlic, the green chillies and the salt. Adjust the number of green chillies according to your taste. There is no red chilli powder in this recipe. So green chillies are what is used to spice up the curry. So adjust the chillies according to your taste. Saute till the onions are light brown in colour. It will take anywhere between 5-6 minutes. Keep sauteing so it browns evenly.
Once the onions are slightly brown, add in the prepared spice powder to the pan. Add all of the prepared spice powder. Saute the spice powder so the hot oil nicely coats them and it becomes very aromatic. Saute for a few seconds.
Add in the chicken at this stage. Bone in chicken is preferred while making Indian style curries as the bone has a lot of flavour. Mix well to combine so the chicken is well coated in the masala. Cook for about a couple of minutes.
Add in a little vinegar at this stage. I have used plain regular vinegar for this recipe. Add in the thin coconut milk also called the second pressed coconut milk. I have used homemade coconut milk for this recipe. Home made fresh coconut milk flavour cannot be beat for this recipe. But, if you are hard pressed for time, you can dilute the canned coconut milk and use it in this recipe. It’s ok. Mix everything well and cover the pan with a lid. Let the chicken slowly cook on a low flame for about thirty minutes. Cooking the chicken on a slow flame brings out the flavours well.
The chicken should be well cooked after 30 minutes. Add in the first pressed thick coconut milk and let the curry simmer for a couple of minutes. Do not cook for long after adding the thick coconut milk.
While the curry is simmering, make a tempering as follows. Heat ghee or coconut oil in a small tempering kadai. Add in the sliced shallots and the curry leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes till the shallots are golden brown.
Add the tempering to the curry and mix well. Our delicious chicken mappas is now ready.
Notes
Potatoes can be added along with the chicken for a variation.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 45m
