E for Egg Devil

There are some foods which are like ambrosia, some little pieces of heaven which you are only blessed with on special days and events. And when you are, you thank your lucky stars and stuff your face! This little dish was my manna during childhood and that feeling has not changed in adulthood. There were rare occasions when ma used to make these and I just gorged on them.

From my Homeland

From the east of India, my homeland Kolkata, I bring you this purely Bengali dish – “deemer devil”. This is a crunchy fried ball of boiled egg with a thick coating of spicy mashed potato.  It is a little complicated and time-consuming recipe which is probably the reason for it not being made very often but I assure you the end justifies the means. Occasions like festivals or guests coming in were times when these got made and the connection to this dish is totally from the heart!

Ingredients:

Egg – 6

Potato – 7/8, large

Onion – 2, chopped

Coriander leaves – handful, chopped

Green chilli – 2, thin round slices

Salt – to taste

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tsp.

Coriander seeds/dhaniya – 1 tsp.

Amchur powder – 1 tsp.

Chaat masala – 1/2 tsp.

Bread crumbs – 100 gms.

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

1. Boil 5 of the eggs and all the potatoes.
2. Dry roast the jeera and coriander seeds. Cool them and grind them into a fine powder.
3. Lightly fry the chopped onions till lightly brown.
4. Mash the boiled potatoes roughly; it doesn’t matter if there are little lumps.
5. Add the fried onions, green chilies, coriander leaves, salt, red chilli powder, powdered roasted masala, amchur powder and chaat masala and mix well. It should form a tight mixture and not a watery one.
6. Peel the boiled eggs and cut into halves longitudinally.
7. Now, carefully coat the boiled egg halves with the potato mixture evenly – about ½” thick.
8. Beat the remaining raw egg in a bowl and spread out the bread crumbs on a plate.
9. Dip the potato coated egg halves in the egg wash and then roll them over the bread crumbs to form an even crust.
10. Heat oil in a deep pan. Now release the balls into the hot oil and fry till golden brown.
11. Serve hot with kasundi (mustard sauce) or ketchup.

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If you make these, let me know how they you like them but I can assure you, you will be a hit among your guests and family!

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 5 – Letter “E”.