Tapash -- All the Way From Bangladesh
This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.
Besides trying out restaurants in Athens is one of Tapash's hobbies, he also enjoys home cooked food. He does not remember when he learnt the recipe for egg curry from his mom, but how it goes, he knows for sure. Enjoy a cooking lesson of Bangladeshi cuisine with Tapash.
We need for 2 servings:
- 1 very big potato
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups of brown rice
- some salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon rasam masala (in asia store)
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (in asia store)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 fresh or dried red peppers
- some water
- some peanut (or any other) oil
1. Hard-boil all eggs, i.e. boil for approximately 10 minutes.2. Fry the hard-boiled eggs in some oil in a pan until they are slightly brownish-golden on the outside.
3. Carefully wash and rinse the rice several times before you start cooking it. Tapash says this is a routine in his country.4. Boil the rice in plenty of water and some salt as long as it says on the package.
By the way, rice is a staple food in Bangladesh.
5. Peel the potato and cut it into big cubes. Unlike in other countries in which the potato is a staple, it is treated as a veggie aside in Bangladesh. So for this recipe it will be cooked along side other vegetables in the curry.
6. Fry the potato cubes n plenty of peanut or any other oil until they are a little brownish-golden on the outside. When they are done, take the potato cubes out of the pot and set them aside.
7. Chop the onion into strips and fry them in the potato pot with the left over oil.
8. Cube the tomatoes and add them to the golden-brown fried onions in the pot.
9. Add the three whole eggs and potato cubes to the same pot and stir for a while until everything is well mixed. Let the mixture fry on a small flame.By the way, frying is a staple method of preparing food in Bangladehs. Ovens and baked goods are seldom except for some special breads like nan.
10. Now it's time to add some spieces: each 1 teaspoon of turmeric, salt, and cinnamon, each1/2 teaspoon of garam and rasam masala. According to how much hotness your tongues can bear you can add dried or even fresh red peppers. We recommend 1 red pepper for a rather mild version of egg curry.
Masala simply means mixture of spices. Asian food stores usually have ready-made mixtures in boxes to use for certain dishes. We have found that the MDH brand is an okay one to buy. It comes in great variety and most often has a recipe on the back of the box.
11. Add 1/2 cup of water and let the curry boil for about ten minutes.
12. Cut the eggs in the pot in half.
Tapash tastes for last time if all spices work out....mmmh, yummy! You might want to add more of the salt or the garam masala as needed. Now it's ready to serve:
Enjoy your egg curry with rice!How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What is special about your home country? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!
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