Tags
appetizers, cooking, Easter, eggs, food, recipe, vegetarian
Have I told you before that I hate Easter egg hunting? Like, for real hate it. Am traumatized by it. Why? Because I can’t find the dang eggs. Can. Not. Find. Them.
In my house Easter egg hunting was a colour coded thing. My Dad would hide eggs in the living room, then each child would be assigned a specific colour. I could find all the other colours, but not mine. One year the dog got into the living room and got a few eggs without anyone realizing. That really messed us up. The worst, though, was the year I told a coworker about my Easter egg hunting disability, which he thought was hilarious, so he made up a series of cardboard eggs with numbers on the backs (1/25, 2/25, etc) and hid them all around the gigantic facility we worked in. Except that he didn’t hide them all. That jerk! It is not lost on me that this year Easter Monday is also April Fool’s Day.
In Sweden, children dress up as witches and go door to door looking for treats at Easter time. For real. According to Swedish folklore, Easter was a time when witches stole household brooms and flew to Blåkulla or “Blue Mountain” (a fictional mountain said to be in Germany) to consort with the devil. Modern tradition is like a mini-Halloween where children dress up as Easter witches with headscarves and painted red cheeks and go door to door with a copper kettle looking for treats. This is a tradition I can totally get on board with.
These curried devilled eggs are anything but traditional, but they’re so good they have become a bit of a tradition in our home. I make them whenever we have a social gathering, and there are never any leftovers. They are an excellent appetizer, particularly with a glass of champagne. And you don’t have to hunt for them, which is the best thing of all.
Happy Easter (och Glad Påsk)!
One year ago: Orange Earl Grey Muffins
Curried Devilled Eggs Recipe:
These eggs take a bit of effort, but are well worth it. It may seem like there is a lot of oil in the masala, and there is, but these devilled eggs use yoghurt in place of the traditional mayo, so it balances out. I’ve tried reducing the oil and they don’t turn out nearly as well, so I strongly advise against it.
Recipe from Vij’s At Home
Serves 4-6
.
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic (3 medium cloves)
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seeds (optional)
dash of black pepper
1/4 cup plain yoghurt (at least 2%)
5 hardboiled eggs
cilantro, finely diced green onion, or finely diced jalapeño for garnish
.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for about 30 seconds, or until the seeds begin to turn dark brown (but not black!). Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until it is lightly golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, cayenne, cumin, fenugreek seeds, and black pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, until the oil glistens on top. Stir the yoghurt into the masala, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat.
Peel the eggs and slice them in half. Remove the yolks and place them in a medium bowl, then use a fork to finely mash the yolks until they are smooth. Add the warm masala to the yolks and mix well. Spoon the filling into the egg white halves, and place on a serving plate. You may end up with more filling than will fit in the egg whites – I like to mound it up generously, but still usually end up with leftover filling – the leftovers are excellent as a spread on crackers or bread.
Garnish with cilantro, green onion, or jalapeño. Serve immediately, or cover the eggs and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Eggs are an amazing source of high quality protein, vitamin B12, choline (important for your brain), carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Eggs are satiating; a study found that those eating a low fat diet which included 2 eggs a day for breakfast lost nearly *twice* as much weight as those eating a bagel breakfast with the same calories and mass, with no increase in blood cholesterol levels.
There is quite a lot of oil in this recipe, so it is definitely a moderation situation. But, as I said, we’re using yoghurt in place of the tradition mayo, and a serving is a couple of devilled eggs, which is totally moderation. Enjoy!
All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2013
