Udacha Muttai Kuzhambu / Poached Egg or Egg Drop Gravy

Ingredients:

For Roasting and Grinding:

1. Peppercorns - 1 tablespoon
2. Red chilli - 5 to 7
3. Coriander Seeds / Coriander Powder - 2 tablespoon (If Coriander Seeds are not available, then Coriander Powder can be used)
4. Cumin / Jeera - 1 tablespoon
5. Coconut - 2 tablespoons
6. Gingelly Oil / Nal ennai - 2 tablespoons

For curry:

1. Onions - 3 medium (Shallots around 15 numbers are preferable)
2. Tomato - 1 small
3. Garlic Pods / Poondu Pal - 10 to 12
4. Tamarind - 1 small ball or 3 spoons of thick juice
5. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tablespoon
6. Salt
7. Eggs - 4

For Tempering:

1. Gingelly Oil / Nal ennai - 4 tablespoons
2. Mustard Seeds / Kadugu - 1/2 tablespoon
3. Curry Leaves

Preparation method:
1. Soak the tamarind in water for a few mins and extract thick pulp.

2. Heat gingelly oil in a pan and roast all the ingredients given under roasting to a golden color.

3. Grind the roasted ingredients given for grinding with little water to a medium to a fine paste and keep it aside. 

4. In a pan add gingelly oil and heat it. once it is heated add in the mustard and curry leaves, let it splutter. Now add in the finely chopped onions and garlic into it and fry them in medium flame.

5. Once the onion is little smushy, add in the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, and salt. Fry them in low flame until it becomes smushy.

6. Once it is completely smashed, now add in the grounded masala paste and fry it in low flame until the water is drained from the masala. It should leave some oil.

7. At that point add in the tamarind extract to the masala and mix it well. Tamarind should not be added more like we used to do it for vatha kuzhambu or kara kuzhmabu. It should be moderate.

8. Add more water around 2.5 glasses and adjust salt according to your taste. Let it boil until the masala smell leaves from the gravy. It should be around 15 mins in medium to low flame.

9. Once the gravy is completely ready, Its time to drop eggs one by one in 1 min intervals. Keep the gas on low flame and drop an egg inside the gravy. Then after a min drop the other egg on available space. 

9. Now close the pan with a lid and leave it in low flame for 10 mins. Do not stir at all.

10. Garnish the egg gravy with coriander and it is ready to be served with hot piping rice and papad.

This is my mom's usual udacha muttai kuzhambu and I love it this way as it reminds me of my mom's food. This is a type of egg gravy prepared in Tirunelveli and it differs from place to place and according to people's choice of ingredients. 

Note: 
Eggs should be dropped carefully, choose a wide pan to make this gravy. Tamarind should be added less compared to other puli kuzhambu varieties.