Mutta Porichathu ~ Malabar Fried Eggs

I decided to have a 3 back-to-back series this month. Can you guess what is the theme? The weather over here is quite apt for “chai and pakoda”, and hence I decided I will share three chai time snacks. Even though I am someone who likes to enjoy my chai on its own without anything alongside, at times, I crave for snacks like ulli pakvada or pazham pori. This egg fry is something I learned when I get married.

We would only boil our eggs, peel it and have it as it is. When I married HD and came towards his side, I was intrigued by this glamorous avatar of boiled eggs, that would get served in every second house we visited. I used to call it “monjathi mutta” aka “pretty eggs”… hehe… The eggs are boiled, peeled and slashed. You can either coat it with a masala and deep fry or shallow fry as per preference. I found that method to be slightly tricky to get the masala coated on the egg, without being too smokey or under-cooked. That is when I noticed my aunt-in-law actually cook the way I am sharing with all of you. I found it the most efficient way to make this dish, as the masala gets cooked prior to the eggs being dropped in and coated all over.

Umma always says, “Payyoliyil poyaa ethu nirbandaa…” (If we go to Payyoli, this is a must…) It is true. These fried eggs would be staple on any guests’ table. Even the masala paste used varies from home to home, so you can use what you prefer. I like to keep it simple without too much spice, since that is the way Azza and HD loves it. Rasha won’t touch eggs, so she runs far away when she sees this. Hehe… Off to this super simple recipe…

5 from 1 vote

Mutta Porichathu ~ Malabar Fried Eggs

Course Snacks

Cuisine Malabar

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 5 eggs hard-boiled and peeled
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp fennel powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp coconut oil

Instructions

• Draw cuts on the eggs with a knife just to allow the masala flavor in, do not cut too deep. Set aside.
• Whisk together ingredients from chilli powder to salt with a little water into a paste. The paste shouldn't be too thick neither too thin.
• Heat a saucepan and add the oil. Let it heat and then keep the flame on bare minimum.
• Add the masala paste and cook it for a couple of minutes stirring it well. Make sure that it is cooked on low flame to avoid it from burning and over smoking.
• Add in the slit eggs and toss well to coat uniformly on all eggs. Do it slow so that the eggs don't break.
• Cook for a few minutes turning the eggs occasionally to get a coated appearance.
• Drain into a plate. Serve hot with chai.

Notes

You can splutter some curry leaves while heating the egg for extra flavor.