The availability of seasonal produce is a huge influence when it comes to traditional dishes. Before central markets and air freight, Kashmiri Pandits living in the mountainous region of northern India - home to frozen winters and the Himalayas - transformed their favourite local proteins with a wise hand and a dabba full of dried spice.
Thool zamboor, a dish of thrice-cooked egg and spices, is the perfect example of Kashmiri culinary can-do turning simple produce into a spectacular thali of spice.
Simple techniques make this dish. Piercing the boiled egg once cold so that the oil and spice can find a way inside, is whatt his neat little protein package is all about.
Deep frying the whole, shelled and cooked egg to give it texture and a crust without having to rely on flour and bread crumbs. (It’s a nifty little trick used in other regional Indian cuisines that the British Raj took home to turn into the basis of Scotch egg.) And, of course, tumbling the prepped egg into a pan full of mustard oil and tomato and spice.
The traditional recipe in my great-aunt’s cookbook calls for tomato puree. Fresh tomato, like fresh ginger, wasn’t always a year-round commodity, and in Kashmir still isn’t. But I like the fresh tomato. It adds a gentle kind of acidity. A little bit of a corset around all of that otherwise rich flavour.
Anyone for whom I’ve ever made thool zamboor rings me the next day with the raves. I think it’s the unexpected quality of experiencing egg in a cooking space that seems way out of its produce comfort zone. Eggs often signal simplicity. But in thool zamboor, everyone’s favourite breakfast protein gets a surprise flavour re-write.
Love this story? You can follow the author via Instagram . Photography, styling and food preparation by Sarina Kamini.
Kashmiri boiled egg curry (thool zamboor)
Serves 2
While egg isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when considering traditional Kashmiri dishes, it is a beautiful carriage for the rich and dense warmth of traditional spicing in this curry.
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup mustard oil
- 3 tomatoes, diced and skin on
- 3 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp ground red chilli
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 ½ tsp fine pink salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tsp fennel powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 cloves
- ⅓ tsp asafoetida powder
- 4 black cardamom pods
Method
- Place all 8 eggs in a medium-sized pot, cover the eggs with cold water, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, cook the eggs for seven minutes to ensure they are hard-boiled. Putting them in cold water will help to prevent the eggs from cracking. Remove the pot from the heat, strain the water and leave the eggs to cool completely.
- Once cool, shell the eggs being careful not to tear the eggs when peeling.
- In a deep fryer, heavy-based pot, kadai, or cast iron wok, heat the vegetable oil and 1 cup of mustard oil on high heat. Fry the eggs one or two at a time, turning to make sure they blister evenly. Fry until the egg takes on an even, browned skin.
- Heat 3 tbsp of mustard oil in heavy-bottomed medium-sized frying on medium-high heat.
- Mix 1 tsp of ground red chilli with 2 tbsp of cold water and stir. When the mustard oil is hot, tip the chilli water in and stir through, watching for the oil spatter. Add the fresh diced tomato to the pan and stir through.
- Add the remaining dried and whole spice to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and stir the spice and the tomato masala until the tomato has cooked, thickened and reduced, and the spice has become rich and fragrant. This should take around 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add the deep-fried boiled eggs to the masala, turn the heat down to medium-low and stir for another 15 to 20 minutes until the masala forms a rich gravy on the outside of the egg. Serve with chapatti and pickle.
Note
• Mustard oil, Kashmiri chilli powder and asafoetida can be found in all Indian and most Asian grocers.
