Bengali style doi dim is a pure luxury where the rich and creamy curry sauce with yogurt clings to the eggs and presents the ultimate indulgence at home!
Today’s recipe is a classic Bengali recipe from my typical Bong kitchen and that is luscious doi dim which can be aptly translated as eggs in yogurt curry sauce. Egg curry is one of the regular curries made in any typical Indian household with their own special tweaks, but my today’s recipe of doi dim is not a regular egg curry.
It is a notch higher than that. Doi dim is a curry based on a rich yogurt sauce which can be enjoyed best with butter naan or some sweet pulav. This egg curry is very flavorful and even if you are not an egg-lover, you will still keep licking the gravy!
The thick and creamy sauce is the USP of this dish called doi dim. Doi is the Bengali name of curd or yogurt and dim is our egg, hence the name as yogurt is the primary ingredient and flavor-bearer.
My mom used to make the regular egg curry quite frequently in our weekly meals. I was not too crazy about eggs, so I never gave it any extra attention. While I started living independently, away from home, I once got lucky to have tasted something similar to this doi dim made by one of my friends’ mom.
That time I didn’t even have the faintest idea that I will eventually turn into a food blogger someday, so I didn’t bother to ask for the recipe. The only memory was me relishing the homemade doi dim which felt even more special because of staying away from home and homemade food for the longest time.
Later, while browsing through many recipes over internet and my recipe book collection, I recalled this one and gave it a shot. Thankfully my doi dim turned out quite perfect!
There is a particular difference in the way Bengalees make egg curry. We fry the boiled eggs with a pinch of turmeric until the outer skin crisps up a little and then we add it to the prepared gravy. This little twist adds a lot to the flavor of the whole dish.
I replicated the same technique in my doi dim too. Additionally, the reason I liked this preparation is because of the use of whole garam masala. Tempering the hot oil with whole spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon etc. infuses the oil tremendously which cannot be achieved otherwise and makes the gravy full of so much flavors that is beyond any description!
You only have to make it to believe it! The aroma of Indian spices have always intrigued me and the more I discover their beauty, the more I fall in love with them, garam masala being the best of all.
The trio of cloves, cinnamon and cardamom is generally referred as whole garam masala due to the warmth they possess which they add to the dish too. This recipe of doi dim speaks for the exquisiteness of Indian cuisine in itself.
Even though doi dim is not one of the flagship recipes, it has all the elements for which Indian food is famous for. The richness and flavor of the gravy is so mind-blowing that you will keep on asking for more after your first helping, I can guarantee that!
So, what are you waiting for? Check out the recipe of doi dim below and get cracking in the kitchen! Enjoy!
- Eggs – 6, hard boiled
- Onion – 1, make a paste of it
- Green cardamom – 2
- Cloves – 2
- Cinnamon stick – 1 inch
- Bay leaf – 1
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Yogurt – ½ cup
- Ginger paste – 1 tsp
- Red chili powder – 1 tsp [Add more depending on your taste]
- Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- All-purpose flour / maida – ½ tsp
- Green chili – 2 to 3, slit them lengthwise
- Mustard oil – 4 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Water – 1 cup
- Freshly chopped coriander leaves to garnish
- Peel the hard-boiled eggs and rub them with little turmeric powder and salt. Grind the onion into a smooth paste with very little water if only required.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Add the eggs and fry them till they are nicely golden yellow in color. Take the eggs out of the pan and keep aside.
- Add remaining oil to the frying pan and once hot temper it with the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. Let them become fragrant for about a minute.
- After sautéing the whole spices for 1 minute, add the onion paste. Add ½ teaspoon of sugar and fry the onion until it turns pinkish brown.
- While the onion is being sautéed, mix the yogurt, ginger paste, red chili powder, all-purpose flour and turmeric in a bowl and beat them well until smooth.
- When the onion is nicely fried and becomes golden brown, take the frying pan off the heat and add the yogurt mixture. Mix it nicely and return to heat after 1 min or so. [If you add the yogurt directly when the pan is on the heat, it may curdle.]
- Sauté the onion-yogurt mixture for 5 minutes on low heat. Then add the green chilies and about 1 cup of water and season with salt to taste.
- Bring the gravy to full boil. Add the eggs and cook for a couple of more minutes on high until the sauce comes to your desired consistency. (If the gravy looks too watery, keep it on high flame for a minute or so till it thickens as you desire.)
- Add chopped coriander and you are done! Best served with white rice! Enjoy!
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