Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Salsa Egg Curry -- Salsa ar Sriracha diye Didima'r Dim kosha

This Salsa Egg Curry saga goes way back to pre-Independence India, when my grandmother was a young girl who tended wild hens in her backyard while making fresh salsa that a Mexican traveler had taught her! Those wild country hens laid some delicious brown eggs and the Mexican traveler had brought her some of his country's fresh hot jalapenos. Actually that was his way of proposing marriage but she gave him bhai-phota and ruined his plans! Inspite of this heart breaking incident, this dish was much loved in our home and went by the name of Salsa ar Sriracha diye Didima'r Dim kosha.

How many of you think that is the truth? How many of you think staying true to your roots means cooking a dish from your country or culture exactly how it has always been done?

Truth is this Salsa egg Curry saga goes back to the summer of 2019  when vacationing in Iceland and missing Dim Kosha, we had promptly made this egg curry, the night after we saw the magical Northern Lights. This is the story that I will tell my grandkids. This might just become their story for their version of Dim Kosha,



How at 9:30 PM at night, the aurora tracking app on my phone started buzzing and we jumped into the car, driving towards the location where sighting was supposed to be best. A merely short 10mins drive out of town and we could see the activity increasing. We pulled up on the side of the road somewhere in pitch darkness and the magnetic storm put up a great show for us. The dark sky above us came alive with curtain of lights, swaying and waving, and  taking on colored hues. It was at the same time beautiful and creepy, kept reminding me of horcruxes from HP.
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The night after we had Salsa Dim Kosha!
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If a Bengali dish with Mexican ingredients comes into existence in Iceland,  does it mean going back to your roots or adapting your roots and giving it space to breathe and grow?
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First Sighting as per FB: September 2019 -- in Iceland





In Bangla there is a saying "Dheki swarge giyeo dhaan bhaange".
Loosely translated it means "If possible, a Bong will cook & eat a spicy dim kosha(egg curry) even when she is amidst the beauty and luxury of a place like heaven"!
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Well actually that's not the translation but I an 100 percent sure this is what it means🤣😜
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After the ethereal beauty of the Aurora yesterday, this egg curry gave us  joy that only heaven can shower on you. So errm, due to lack of regular ingredients this was made with salsa from a jar, onions, sriracha sauce and a sprinkle of curry powder. All found in our Airbnb kitchen!
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And it was so good that I am going to copyright this recipe. Salsa ar Sriracha diye Didima'r Dim kosha!! ❤



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Also a huge thanks to all of you who inspired us to cook on vacation. Grocery stores will be put on my next vacation itinerary. Really enjoyed the experience.





Second Sighting as per FB post: August 2020 -- in Maine




Last year, around this time we were getting all ready and doing last minute booking for our Iceland trip🏞.
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Food was big on my mind as everyone had said Iceland is an expensive country. However other than some packets of maggi and snacks, I did not carry any more food in my luggage. I love to eat local at the places we travel and if local restaurants were expensive or not good enough then I would rather buy local groceries🛒 😜
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And that is what we did. I made it a point to visit the local grocery store Kronan and Bonus in the 4 different places that we stayed in our airbnb!!!  
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However I don't like spending time cooking during vacation either. So there were shortcuts. Marinated salmon and fiskoo burgers were our regular buy.
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And then this egg curry, made with a jar of salsa 💃 + hot sauce🌶. No chopping onions and garlic, no other spices needed. This was such a hit that on our recent road trip to Maine, we made this salsa egg curry again. 
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It's the easiest egg curry that tastes closest to dim kosha and with zero effort. Perfect for a vacation or staycation.
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I think I should post a recipe for this one soon. A #norecipe recipe 😍

In Maine, this Egg Curry was made with a tub of fresh pico de gallo at the neighborhood grocery store. Some green chilies, garlic powder, paprika went in.


Third Sighting: May and July 2021 -- in Vermont and Catskills




This time the salsa was a super hot, ghost pepper salsa. The spice rack at the AirBnB had some seasoning from TJ’s and also some paprika and curry powder. That’s all that went into the curry.



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The Egg Curry was delicious. And so easy to make. I don’t know why I don’t make this at home. Maybe it’s the wanderlust that makes this egg curry more exciting, the adventure of what lies in an unfamiliar kitchen, who is to say!



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Salsa Egg Curry - No Recipe Recipe

Buy Eggs from the local grocery store wherever you are.

Buy Salsa
  1. You can buy fresh Pico de Gallo
  2. You can buy a jar of any generic hot salsa
  3. You can buy the super hot Ghost pepper or Dessert Pepper Salsa.
I prefer the salsa to be bit chunky for this dish.

Now if you do not want to buy salsa, the essence of this dish is lost, but what can we do. Make your own fresh Pico De Gallo, You can follow this recipe for pico de gallo but I will say increase the jalapeno.
Make this Salsa too. Use one or both
Take 2 medium good quality tomatoes. If you don't have access to great tomatoes, open a can of crushed or diced tomatoes.

In a food processor add
tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp of Cumin seeds
3 chopped green chili or 1 jalapeno chopped
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
Pulse to combine everything. Should NOT be a smooth paste.

Add salt and sugar to taste to the above. Combine. Your salsa is ready

Boil and peel the Eggs. Score the tips like a cross. Fry them with Turmeric powder and a sprinkle of paprika until the skin starts to crinkle and takes on brown spots. Remove and set aside.

Now in the same oil, add the Pico de Gallo and sauté. Follow with the Salsa. (Note: With store bought chunky salsa, just add the salsa to the oil, nothing more).

Add any spice powder that is available and takes your fancy. Some suggestions - garlic powder, total seasoning, onion powder, curry powder, paprika, red chili powder, a touch of garam masala.

Sauté until you see oil separating from masala. The ole Indian trick. Add salt and sugar as per your taste.

Add the eggs now and cook along with the masala. The gravy will be clinging to the eggs. Serve with rice.




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2 comments:

  1. Love your blog, your recipes, and your stories. But for the days I come back to saved recipes/pages to make them over and over again, a Jump to Recipe button would be super helpful :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Salsa Egg Curry? That sounds very new to me. Looks delicious though.

    ReplyDelete

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