This Creole curried eggs with cruchy snake gourd is cooked with coconut milk and has a nutty flavour and a velvety sauce. Ideally served with plain boiled rice and a pumpkin chutney.
This snake-like gourd, hence its name, grows year round all over the Seychelles islands. Snake gourd has a waxy green skin and is often speckled or striped with a lighter shade of green. There is now even a white one. It has a crunchy, bland and faintly bitter taste which disappears when cooked. Although it is used as a vegetable and is also added to fish daube, it is more popular as a raw salad.
Selection and Storage of Snake Gourd
Always choose immature ones because the mature ones are very fibrous and cannot be eaten. Look for a firm and smooth exterior. Do not buy if they have wrinkled skin.
Preparing the snake gourd
Wash your snake gourd and scrape off the very thin outer skin with a knife and trim the ends.
Slit the gourd in two lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the seeds and white pith leaving only the outer flesh and an empty cavity where the seeds were. Slit the gourd once more lengthwise. You will now end up with four long strips of snake gourd. Cut the strips into squares of about about 2 cm, place in a bowl and wash under running water, drain and keep.
Prepare the eggs
You will require 10 eggs. Bring your eggs to room temperature before boiling. If the eggs are too cold, the shells may crack during cooking. Gently place the eggs in a saucepan and add cold water. Place the pan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook the eggs for 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg from the water and place them in a large bowl of cold water to halt the cooking process and lower the temperature of the eggs.
When the eggs reach room temperature, it’s time to peel them. Gently tap the eggs against a hard surface and peel away the shell. You can also opt to peel the eggs under the running water so the added pressure of the water can work to remove the shells too. Rinse the egg under cold water to remove any bits of shell and pat dry. Cut each egg in half and keep.
Making the curry
Heat a medium size pot and add oil. Once the oil is hot stir in the chopped onion, crushed garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Reduce heat and add coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes.
Add curry powder and turmeric, chilli and curry leaves, stir to mix in the ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes. You then add the snake gourd and cook for about 15 minutes, stir occasionally. At that stage your snake gourd would have gone tender but still a bit crunchy.
Add eggs and simmer for another 10 minutes. Avoid stirring as it will break up the eggs. You can gently shake of the pot instead. Season with salt and pepper and serve with plain boiled rice and a pumpkin chutney
Here is your recipe for Curried Eggs with Snake Gourd- Kari Dizef ek Patol
This Creole curried eggs with cruchy snake gourd is cooked with coconut milk and has a nutty flavour and a velvety sauce. Ideally served with plain boiled rice and a pumpkin chutney.
- 10 eggs
- 2 medium size immature snake gourds
- 800 ml coconut milk – 3 cups ( about two tins)
- 1½ tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 3 cloves of garlic- crushed
- 1 tsp freshly crushed ginger
- 2 goat chillies- seeded
- 1 tbsp vegtable oil
- ½ white onion, roughly chopped
- 10 curry leaves
- Salt and pepper
-
Wash your snake gourd and scrape off the very thin outer skin with a knife and trim the ends.
-
Slit the gourd in two lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the seeds and white pith leaving only the outer flesh and an empty cavity where the seeds were.
-
Slit the gourd once more lengthwise. You will now end up with four long strips of snake gourd.
-
Cut the strips into squares of about about 2 cm , place in a bowl and wash under
running water, drain and keep. -
Wash your snake gourd and scrape off the very thin outer skin with a knife and trim the ends
-
Slit the gourd in two lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the seeds and white pith leaving only the outer flesh and an empty cavity where the seeds were.
-
Slit the gourd once more lengthwise. You will now end up with four long strips of snake gourd.
-
Cut the strips into squares of about about 2 cm , place in a bowl and wash under running water, drain and keep.
Boil eggs
-
Bring your eggs to room temperature before boiling. If the eggs are too cold, the shells may crack during cooking. -
Gently place the eggs in a saucepan and add cold water.
-
Place the pan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook the eggs for 8 minutes to give firm hard boiled eggs.
-
Once boiled, remove the eggs from the water using a slotted spoon and place them in a large bowl of cold water to halt the cooking process and lower the temperature of the eggs.
-
When the eggs reach room temperature, gently tap the eggs against a hard surface and peel away the shell. You can also opt to peel the eggs under the running water so the added pressure of the water can work to remove the shells, too.
-
Rinse the egg under cold water to remove any bits of shell and pat dry.
-
Cut each egg in half and keep
-
Heat a medium size pot and add oil. Stir in the chopped onion, crushed garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes until onion is translucent
-
Reduce heat and add coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes
-
Add curry powder and turmeric, chilli and curry leaves, stir to mix in the ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes
-
Add the snake gourd and cook for about 15 minutes, stir occasionally
-
Add eggs and simmer for another 10 minutes. Avoid stirring as it will break up the eggs. You can gently shake of the pot instead
-
Season with salt and pepper
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Serve with plain boiled rice and pumpkin chutney
- You may decide to remove the chilli before serving or leave it in the curry and hope for the best!
- As with most curry that are cooked with coconut milk, there are no vinegary or acidic ingredients because they could curdle the coconut milk, especially if you are using freshly squeezed coconut milk.
- You should also cook your coconut milk on low heat as high heat will also tend to speed up the curdling process.
- The ideal eggs for this curry are the bird’s eggs. Unfortunately, if you are lucky, you can obtain them once a year during the South East Monsoon.
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you will enjoy preparing this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.
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