Burmese-style egg, vegetable and noodle coconut curry

By: Anjum Anand
From: Anjum's Indian Vegetarian Feast
Serves: 4
Photographer: Emma Lee

This dish, khao sway, came to India during the Second World War and has grown in popularity over the years. Once a simple recipe, it is now a dinner party favourite. I have added a few vegetables and some eggs, but you can vary the accompaniments to your own taste. The curry is normally served with coriander, chillies, fried garlic and lemons on the side, so guests add what they like. To shred the potato for the potato straws, I use the slicer part of my box grater, then finely slice the paper-thin rounds into long, fine julienne; it works beautifully.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient

For the coconut curry

Quantity	Ingredient
4-5 tablespoons	vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon	fenugreek seeds
1	large onion, sliced
1	large-ish tomato, quartered
20g	root ginger, (peeled weight)
5	garlic cloves, peeled
1 rounded tablespoon	gram flour
2-3	dried red chillies
1/2 teaspoon	turmeric
1 tablespoon	ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons	ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons	garam masala, or to taste
	salt, to taste
400ml	coconut milk
50g	coconut cream
2-3 teaspoons	lemon juice, or to taste
good pinch	caster sugar, (optional)

For the potato straws (salli)

Quantity	Ingredient
1	potato, shredded, (see recipe introduction)
1/3 teaspoon	salt
	vegetable oil, to deep-fry

For the rest

Quantity	Ingredient
4-6	eggs
2 tablespoons	vegetable oil
150g	whole okra
or 1	small aubergine, sliced
8-12	large oyster mushrooms
220g	egg noodles
handful	coriander leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons	salted, roasted peanuts
	lemon wedges, to serve
1-2	large red chillies, sliced, to serve

Method

Heat the oil for the curry in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the fenugreek and fry until browned, then the onion. Cook over a high heat until caramelised at the edges. Meanwhile, blend the tomato, ginger and garlic with water until smooth. Add the gram flour to the onion and sauté over a medium flame for one minute, scraping the pan often.
Add the tomato mixture, all the spices and salt. Give it a good stir and cook until it thickens considerably, 12–15 minutes over a medium-low flame, stirring often. Remove and reserve the dried chillies, add a splash of water and blend until smooth. Pour back into the rinsed-out pan and return the chillies. Add the coconut milk and 150 ml of water and simmer for five minutes. Now add the coconut cream, lemon juice and sugar. The sauce should be creamy but not too thick.
Toss the potato straws in the salt in a bowl. Gently heat 3.5 cm of oil in a saucepan (the wider the pan the more you can do at once). When the oil is medium-hot, squeeze out as much water as you can from the potatoes and add one or two large handfuls to the oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry for five to six minutes, breaking up tangled straws, until lightly golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat to cook all the straws.
Meanwhile, boil the eggs for eight minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the okra, season and stir for a few minutes, then cover and cook until soft (three to four minutes). Remove. Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan and add the mushrooms, season and fry until golden and crisp on the edges.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and mound in the centre of deep plates. Pour the sauce over and arrange the eggs, okra and mushrooms around. Sprinkle with chopped coriander, peanuts and potato straws. Serve with lemon wedges and sliced chillies.