Brazilian Spiced Egg Rice

This is a cheap, tasty dish eaten in Brazil by people of African descent. Eat it with rice as a satisfying and exciting dinner.

You need:

This will serve five people

• 12 eggs
• olive oil
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1 heaped tspn grated coconut
  
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 onions
• 1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To make it:

1. Finely slice the onion, mince the garlic.
   
2. Break the eggs into the bowl (a great opportunity to use up leftover yolks or whites). Gently beat the egg.
   
3. Put a generous splash of olive oil into a frying pan. Heat it on medium and throw in the garlic, onion, tomato, coconut and coriander, stirring constantly.
   
4. When they are a little browned (but just a little) add the eggs.
   
5. Keep stirring, and after 10 seconds reduce the heat as low as it will go.
   
6. Stir now and then for the next five minutes, when they eggs should be done.
   
7. Season with salt and pepper.
   

Tips

Delicious in a tortilla for lunch the next day!

photo with thanks to franck94

Egg Curry/ Simple Biryani

I have an Indian friend who loves eggs. This recipe is for egg Biryani, the versatile Indian dish that can now be found as part of the local cuisine anywhere where Indians have emigrated...

I am not sure that it is completely authentic- I am pretty sure this is a simplified version- but delicious all the same.

You need:

1. basmati rice (raw, 1 cup)
   
2. 4 eggs
3. 1 medium size onion (chopped)
4. HERBS and SPICES: 2 spoon chopped coriander leaves;1-2 sliced green chilies; 1bay leaf (finely chopped), 2 cloves, 1 cardamom pod, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds,1 spoon ginger paste (or a thumb sized piece, diced), 1 spoon garlic paste (or 1 clove, minced), 1 tomato (chopped or pureed), 1 teaspoon red chili powder,1 teaspoon coriander powder,1 teaspoon garam masala powder,½ teaspoon turmeric powder,1 teaspoon cumin powder
5. 3 spoon olive oil or butter
6. 1 spoon sweet pepper (red, yellow or green) (sliced)
7. 1 spoon grated carrot
8. 1 spoon green peas
9. salt to taste

How to do it:

1. You will need to soak the rice for between 1 and 2 hours before draining.
2. Cook the rice with 2 cups of water and a couple of drops of oil. This is the method where when the water has been absorbed by the rice it should be cooked. Be careful- don't let it over cook (don't worry if you prefer to cook the rice another way)
   
3. Let the rice cool.
4. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt in a bowl.
5. In a pan heat a spoon of oil.
6. In a deep pan (or a wok, but it is easiest if you can do it in a dish that can later be put into the oven) heat 2 spoons of oil (or clarified butter). Add the cumin seeds, bay, cloves, cardamon and cook, stirring, for one minute (don't let it burn).
   
7. Add the diced onion, garlic, ginger and salt. Wait until the onion goes transparent, before adding chopped tomato and the rest of the spices. Cook for 3-4 mins.
8. Add the chopped vegetables and cook for around 5 mins.
9. Add the cooked rice, cooked egg and mix, and put it into the oven, covered in foil. Bake for 10 mins, slow oven, 270 F/175 C/ Gas 1. If you haven't cooked it on the stove in something that can be put directly in the oven, either transfer it first or just cover the pan and keep on the stove for 10mins on a low heat.
   
10. Garnish with fresh, chopped coriander, a sprinkling of almonds or cashews, a few onion rings or all of them!

Tips and simplification
This recipe calls for some pretty inconvenient things. One spoonful of chopped sweet pepper? Who has that lying around. As with all of our recipes, don't be a slave- we want common sense, not complication. If you have some leftover pepper to use up, go ahead, put in one spoonful, but if not, why not add a spoonful of another capsicum, such as dried paprika, or a bit of chili powder? Healthier still, bung in a whole pepper.

The same with the carrot. One spoonful? Just grate the whole carrot. It will be more colourful and much more nutritious.

As for the spices, not many people have cardomom pods in their spice racks, or garam masala. If you don't have it fresh, use it dried. If you don't have it at all, just leave it out. Personally I am not a huge fan of garam masala anyway, and would probably just use a mild curry powder instead.

Want more protein? Add more eggs, or add some meat. A great way to use up leftover egg whites or yolks.

Want to make it healthier? Use brown rice.

The recipe isn't claiming to be authentic in its first incarnation, so don't be afraid to stray further!

photo with thanks to gavinbell

Keep Hens' Eggs Fresh For Longer

The delicious smell of rotten eggs. I'd be happy to never have to smell it again.

Buying eggs

• The colour of the shell isn't important, but shiny eggs are likely to be older (the eggs above have been died so are meant to be shiny).

Raw eggs

• Back in the day, when hens laid fewer eggs during midwinter, people would store eggs in advance by gently rubbing a little butter onto the shells. The butter stops air moving through the porous shells so that bacteria cannot get in. Instead of butter you could use oil or glycerine. Put them in a pot with a lid and store in a cool, dark place. A cellar is perfect. Best for fresh eggs- eggs bought in shops may already have been treated with preservatives and you can never tell how old they are. Make sure that you wash the eggs first do get off any dirt before you brush them with butter.
• Mark eggs with a pencil. You can devise your own secret code, but even a small line would help you tell older ones from newer ones.
• Find out how fresh your egg is. Put it in a cold water. Fresh eggs lie on their sides, older eggs will stand upright. Eggs that float to the top are old- avoid at all costs!
• If you aren't going to put oil or butter on your eggs, don't wash them before storing! Washing them will also remove the protective coatin and they will actually go off more quickly.
• Sometimes it can seem that the only place for a cracked egg is the bin. But you can still boil it if you wrap them in foil first, or you could always freeze it (see below). This is only a good idea if you cracked the egg yourself! If it arrives cracked, best to dispose of it as you cannot be sure what could have got into the egg.
• Cover egg yolks in water to keep them for longer
• Egg whites needs to be stored in a clean, dry, air-tight container.
• To insure lasting freshness of eggs, rotate and mark them. If you place a small pencil mark on old eggs you will be certain to identify them and use them before recently purchased eggs.

Keep cooked eggs fresh

• When you hard boil eggs and are intending on keeping them stocked in the fridge, have you thought of putting a drop of food colouring the water to make sure that you can distinguish them from raw eggs? Another, greener, more waste-friendly tip is the traditional Cumbrian method of boiling eggs with onion skins. The more onion skins, the stronger the dye.
• Don't be tempted to freeze boiled eggs. Their texture and taste will change.

Freezing eggs

• Break the yolks, as they don't freeze well otherwise.
• You can freeze yolks and whites separately, or together.
• If you mix yolks and whites together and freeze in an icecube tray, two cubes would be equivalent to a large egg.
• Whole eggs cannot be frozen; the shells will crack as the liquid expands.

Less waste when cooking with eggs

• If you add one teaspoon of vinegar to water when boiling eggs they may not crack.
• Cotton-buds are you friend if you only want egg white. Even a little yolk or oil can ruin a recipe, so remove drops of yolk with a cotton bud. If you are using an electric whisk ensure that there is no oil on the blades.
• Slice hard boiled eggs more easily by dipping the knife in water first.
  photo with thanks to ANDI2...trying to catch up