About The Author
Hello! From Chuchura (in Hooghly District) and a foodie, I created this blog with a mission to preserve the food of the land; with a message to encourage and promote clean and real food. I hope you enjoy and gain out of this blog, happy reading!
Looking forward to read and hear your feedback.
Inexpensive yet packs a punch of spicy flavors, Dim Kosha is a Bengali’s favorite when the need is to have a good meal without digging a hole in the pocket.
A dim kosha recipe uses onion and tomato in bulk and equal quantity. These are braised with spices on medium heat along with potatoes for a spicy, tangy gravy of thick consistency .
I returned home after almost a year and met Ritwik, my childhood friend. We have played together, learnt swimming together, went to school and went tuitions together.
I explained to him how I missed the street snacks of the hometown and shared how a humble momo was ruling the streets of Bhubaneswar.
To this he revealed how the momos available locally have been modified to suit the local taste buds. The vendors have added a spice quotient to the humble momos to make them suitable to the local palette.
This short insight on momos will help you understand how Bengalis love to add a spice to even the humblest of food. How do you then expect the egg to be an exception?
Kosha is a Bengali’s favorite – be it a mutton kosha, chicken kosha cooked in Golbari style or traditional chicken kosha. Or even a niramish (no onion no garlic) aloo’r dum that is best served with luchi (poori made of flour) and pulao.
This egg kosha recipe cooked with potatoes will jazz up your dining table. Don’t forget to serve this dish with sliced raw onions, green chilly and a wedge of lemon.
Note
The equipment & ingredient quantity provided in this recipe is to assist you in cooking this dish. Feel free to experiment with your ingredients. Remember that we all have different set, size & shape of kitchen tools in our pantry.
Equipment
- Preparation Bowls
- Knife and chopping board
- Mixie or mortar-pestle
- Wok and spatula
- Serving Bowls
Ingredients
- 4 pc eggs
- 4 pc medium-sized onions
- 4 pc medium-sized tomatoes
- 2 pc potatoes optional
- 4 tsp mustard oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 pc green chilies slit from the middle
- 2 cup water
- 2 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
For the Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 inch ginger or 2 tsp ginger paste
- 10 pc garlic cloves or 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 pc dry red chilies or 1 tsp red chilli powder (check notes)
- 2 pc Kashmiri red chilli or 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder (check notes)
Whole Spices for Dim Kosha (for tempering)
- 1 pc 1-inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 pc bayleaf
- 2 pc dried red chilly
- 4 pc cardamom pod
Instructions
Preparation for Dimer Kosha
- Take the eggs and boil them for 6-8 minutes. Once done, allow them to cool (or run through water to cool down) and peel
- Peel, cut into half and boil the potatoes till they are well cooked. Or use a pressure cooker and allow 2 whistles for the potatoes to be well cooked.
- Take a pinch of turmeric powder, red chilli powder (optional) and salt and rub them over the eggs and potatoes. Keep aside
- Soak Kashmiri red chilies and dry red chilies in hot water for half an hour
- Peel and slice the onions. Peel and roughly chop the ginger and garlic cloves
- In a mixie, add the ginger, garlic and soaked chilies and make a fine paste. Keep aside. Check notes if you do not have whole Kashmiri red chillies and dry red chilies
- Chop the tomatoes and slit the green chilies
Cooking the Dim Kosha
- Take a wok and put it on a high flame
- Once hot, add the mustard oil and allow it to smoke
- When the oil starts smoking, lower the flame to low and wait for a few seconds
- Add the marinaded eggs and saute for a couple of minutes till the eggs are lightly browned on all sides. Keep aside
- Do the same with the potatoes. Fry them till they are yellowish brown on all sides. Keep aside
- To the remaining oil in the wok, add the whole spices mentioned under "Whole Spices for Dim Kosha"
- Stir this for a minute. Add the cumin seeds
- Once the cumin seeds start spluttering, add the sliced onions
- Saute this until the onions turn golden brown
- Add the ginger-garlic-red chilly paste prepared previously and cook till the raw flavors exist
- Drop in the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder
- Continue stirring till the masala is nicely cooked. This is an important step. Once the masala in the wok starts to release oil, proceed to the next step
- At this point, the gravy in the wok will resemble a mish-mash. Add water and bring it to a boil
- Add salt, sugar and slit green chilies
- Cover and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes
- Check for seasonings and adjust if required
- Add the fried eggs along with the potatoes (optional) and simmer for another 5-10 minutes
- Put off the flame and allow this to rest for 10-15 minutes
- Serve hot with rice, a wedge of lemon and raw onion sliced or cut into rings
Notes
Rule of Tomatoes, Onions and Eggs
For the best dimer kosha or egg kasha cooked in bengali style, the ratio of egg, onion and tomato is important. Thankfully, this is easy and the ratio is always 1:1:1. So if you have 4 eggs, you will need 4 onions and 4 tomatoes. This will ensure a perfect balance of flavors.Replacing Whole Red Chilies with Chili Powders
This recipe requires whole Kashmiri red chilies and whole dry red chilies. While the former is for a red hue, the later is for the spiciness. However, if you are a bachelor or someone who does not have these whole spices, there is still a way out. Replace the whole chilies with spice powders. You need to do the following in such a scenario –- Grind ginger and garlic only. Do not drop in the powdered chili powders
- Add the Kashmiri red chili powders and dried red chili powders when you add the other powdered spices – like turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder