This golden egg curry is made with curry-leaf spiced coconut milk. It’s creamy, spicy, and delicious – it’s also a breeze to make!
What is Coconut Egg Curry?
This coconut egg curry is also known as nadan matta egg curry. It’s a dish made up of hard-boiled eggs in coconut gravy.
I love egg curry, and I love coconut milk, so it only makes sense that coconut egg curry is one of my favorite dishes to make and eat! While I’d love to take credit for this unique combination (eggs and coconut), it’s a very popular dish in Kerala, a state in India.
I grew up eating a lot of North Indian & Punjabi Food because that’s where my parents are from (I actually have a fantastic Punjabi Egg Curry recipe on the blog too). I have to admit, though, that I might just like South Indian food better, particularly Keralite food. The cuisines are SO different! And I love the flavor combination of fresh curry leaves and coconut – two major ingredients in Keralite cuisine.
My husband’s family is from Kerala, and there, they eat this coconut egg curry for breakfast. Since Roby (hubby) is used to having this dish for breakfast or brunch, he thinks it’s a little strange when I make it for dinner, but he helps me gobble it up anyway.
“This is one of our favorite recipe of Ashley’s. It’s quick and easy to make and turns out delicious every time with the same taste.”
Anwesha
Coconut Egg Curry Ingredients
This recipe calls for a small handful of ingredients and is incredibly easy to make. You only need one pan, and then you have to add the ingredients at the right time (follow the directions below). When you cut the onions, leave them a little choppy so that you can taste them alongside the egg – I love the texture that the chopped onions add to the dish.
- Eggs: hard-boiled and peeled
- Coconut Oil
- Black Mustard Seeds
- Dried Red Chillies
- Onion
- Serrano Pepper
- Turmeric
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Meat Masala
- Curry Leaves
- Canned Coconut Milk
I could eat this egg curry all week – it’s that good. You can enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Once it’s gone, you’ll be thinking about when to make it again!
Coconut Egg Curry
Coconut Egg Curry
Ingredients
- 4 eggs hard-boiled and peeled
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1-2 Serrano peppers slit
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon meat masala
- 1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
- 1 13.5 ounce can of organic full-fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Melt coconut oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven and add mustard seeds. When the seeds start to splutter, add dried red chilies, onions, and slit Serrano pepper(s).
- After about 10 minutes or once the onions soften, add turmeric, salt, black pepper, meat masala and curry leaves and stir-fry for a minute.
- Next, add the can of coconut milk and cook on low for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the eggs, cook for a couple more minutes, then serve.
just for fun, here’s a photo from 2013:
Like Indian food? Then be sure to check out my Paleo Indian eCookbook:South Asian Persuasion! It has 100+ Paleo Indian Recipes, many of which you won’t find anywhere else (paneer, anyone?)! 🙂
Susan morris says
Love this egg curry.
M.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thank you! So glad to hear that 🙂
Xochi says
I made this, but substitute coconut oil for corn oil,no curry leaves. It was delicious.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Xochi, I’m so glad to hear that 🙂
Anwesha says
This is one of our favorite recipe of Ashley’s. It’s quick and easy to make and turns out delicious every time with the same taste.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Anwesha, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this dish 🙂
Krissette Martin says
Hi Ashley,
Thank you for this yummy recipe! I tried it out today minus salt (on a Special diet) and I didn’t have curry leaves. I’ve tried some of your others recipes and they’re all delicious.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Krissette! I’m so glad to hear that you liked this one! 🙂
Kishore padmanabha says
This is such an easy recipe and full of flavor. My wife had it and enjoyed it , asked to make it again with some idiyappam .Kids also enjoyed it .
My Heart Beets says
Kishore, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you and your family enjoyed this egg curry 🙂
Kamya Sarma says
Whoa! Just polished off a plate of dosas with this curry. I CANNOT believe how delicious and deceptively simple this was. I can barely cook, so I will probably be living on this from now on. And, as a malayali, this warms my heart. Thanks for this recipe 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Kamya, that makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for letting me know how the coconut egg curry turned out for you 🙂 So happy you liked this so much!
Mary says
Another winner from your blog! Very mild and rich, and so incredibly easy. We’re lucky to live near several Asian/Indian groceries, so getting the less-common ingredients was easy and well worth it. I added a can of chickpeas, and thickened it a bit with some tapioca starch, then served it over rice and veggies. Everybody loved it 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Mary, so glad you liked the coconut egg curry!! Love that you added chickpeas to it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Nisha says
Awesome recipe – just what I needed for a quick dinner tonight. I used tandoori masala because I didn’t have meat masala (I don’t even know what that is…). Also added the eggs before the coconut milk to give them a bit of a seared taste on the outside. Super tasty hit with all the family. Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Nisha, that’s so great to hear!! Thanks for letting me know how much you like it 🙂 If you click on the meat masala link you can read about it – it is a kerala blend of garam masala. Good to know tandoori masala tastes good too!
Mary says
I HAD to try this recipe immediately! Even though I didn’t have all of the ingredients, it was so Yummy! I didn’t have hard boiled eggs, so I poached 4 eggs in the sauce, and covered the pan. Served it over cauliflower rice. Tomorrow I’ll try the leftovers with the paleo Naan bread.
My Heart Beets says
Mary, I’m so glad you made it! And I’ll have to try it with poached eggs – that sounds delicious!
Mary says
It was so good, Ashley, I can’t say enough good things about it!
I am making it again, but will try it with some over cooked chicken breasts (my meat thermometer was broken). I have always loved a mild curry with chicken, so I think it will be great!
Thank you so much for all of your recipes!
My Heart Beets says
Mary, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for letting me know how this turned out for you! 🙂
Mary says
Is there a substitute for curry leaves? I have never seen that item in a store.
(Thank you for your wonderful recipies!)
My Heart Beets says
Unfortunately there’s no substitute – I actually have a blog post I wrote all about curry leaves if you want to learn more about them + where to buy them online (amazon): myheartbeets.com/difference-between-curry-leaves-curry-powder/
Arbie says
There is no real substitute , however sauteed coriander, chives and dill ( Cilantro and dill stems) give a fair and close approximation . You can also add some finely grated zest of key limes or just limes ( green !) towards the end. Key limes and Curry leaves are different genera in citrus family and provide a decent flavor approximation . Best. Curry leaves are a complex flavor that are similar to key limes + cilantro+ chives , only much stronger .
Faith says
Made this again tonight for the millionth time. Probably my favorite recipe on your blog (and from your cookbook)! ^_^
My Heart Beets says
Faith, that’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
Deanna says
Hi – do you add the meat masala in step 3?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Deanna, you add it in step 2 – I’ve updated the directions 🙂
Lili llama says
Absolutely yum! Added a bit of gluten-free cornflour at the end to thicken it up. Couldn’t brave the recommended amount of chillis though! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Therese says
Hi, is the sauce in this curry suposed to be thick or thin? Also is there any difference between using coconut milk and cream?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Therese, the curry is relatively thin but if you want to thicken it just cook it for a longer period of time. I’d suggest using full fat coconut milk. Hope that helps – please let me know how this turns out for you!