EGGS....the most versatile of foods.

 

EGGS....the most versatile of foods.

Egg are of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, a few mammals and fish, and many of these have been eaten by humans for thousands of years. The most commonly consumed eggs are chicken eggs. Other poultry eggs including those of duck, quail & emu also are eaten. Fish eggs are called roe and caviar and are expensive delicacies.

Chicken eggs are widely used in many types of dishes, both sweet and savoury, including many baked goods. Some of the most common preparation methods include scrambled, fried, poached, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, omelettes and pickled. They also may be eaten raw for its raw protein & some cocktails do use egg yolk or whites.

A very Breakfast material, eggs also are consumed for hi tea & it was once a part of Classical 12course Menu. Eggs as ingredients are used in bakery, confectionary products as well as desserts, starters. Egg yellows mashed, whipped whites, mixed with other ingredients, boiled n chopped in salads....eggs have umpteen uses in culinary art.

In this article I choose to write few Maharashtrian Egg Dishes (Maharashtra is a state in India) that are eaten not only by non-vegetarians but a class termed as Eggitarian (basically vegetarians eating egg). Egg was never a breakfast item in Maharashtra as mostly the staple consisted of vegetarian dishes /snacks.

A certain steamed egg preparation was eaten much before addition of omelette (popularly known as Pola). The steamed egg preparation named “Andyache Vaffole” 
gets its name from being steamed (whipped eggs poured over julienne onions, chopped chillies, coriander and sprinkled with turmeric, salt and steamed in a flat vessel). It is a quick simple dish that can be eaten with jowar bhakri or chapati.

The egg dishes eaten in meals range from Egg curry to Egg masala to Stuffed Eggs to Eggs on bed on vegetables to Egg Rice.

Egg curries (Kalvan in Marathi) are varied as per regions like malvani, kolhapuri (with coconut base), khandeshi Savji(very spicy) are made mostly with boiled eggs but some households make the curry with egg directly to the simmering curry that makes the curry thick too and the egg yolk in this curry is awesome to eat.

Egg Masala are thick gravy (sauces) with boiled eggs added. The dry Masala (spiced mix) with roasted coconut, onion, poppy seeds mixture is stuffed in the eggs and generous addition of thick gravy while cooking.  

These egg dishes again take the regional flavour of coconut (malvani /kolhapuri), peanuts (kolhapuri, vidharbha, puneri) as one of the main ingredients.

The common household makes egg pakoda (with spiced gramflour batter)

egg pola (type of omelette with chillies, onion, coriander), egg bhurji (spiced scrambled egg)  and also use the beaten egg to coat chunks of meat or poultry (fried mutton/chicken), liver (fried chicken or mutton liver), Maratha chicken chops (marinated with spices, egg, rice flour). 

One of my favourites is  “Kandya varche Ande”....heat oil, add cinnamon, cloves. Add julienne cut onions and sauté till well cooked, add turmeric, chilli powder & either of maratha/malvani/khandeshi masala. Stir well, Break egg on bed of this mixture & steam for 5 minutes.

Recipes are so varied for these egg dishes that it will not be possible to add them here. You can browse the net for “maharashtrian egg dishes”.