Muttai Kuzhambu (Egg Tamarind Curry)
A Tamil home curry: boiled eggs simmered in a tangy tamarind gravy with shallots, garlic and sesame oil, eaten with rice.
- Region
- Tamil Nadu
- Status
- Traditional
- Diet label
- Contains eggs
- Time
- Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Weeknight dinner
- Tags
- Good source · Dairy-free · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free*
- Allergens
- Eggs, sesame (oil)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 485 kcal
- Protein
- 23 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuzhambu only (2–3 eggs) | 305 | 19 g | 15 g | 18 g | 5 g | 4 g | 9 g | 6.5 g |
| Dinner plate: kuzhambu, 50 g raw rice | 485 | 23 g | 54 g | 19 g | 5 g | 6 g | 9 g | 5.0 g |
Good source (plate); the dish alone is High protein. Plate density is just under 5 g per 100 kcal before rounding. Includes 3 g jaggery for the batch. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
- 15 g tamarind, soaked in 300 ml warm water and squeezed · 80 g shallots, peeled · 80 g tomato · 6 garlic cloves
- 12 g kuzhambu or sambar powder · ¼ tsp turmeric · 3 g jaggery · 4 g salt
- 12 g gingelly (sesame) oil · ½ tsp mustard seeds · ¼ tsp methi seeds · 10 curry leaves
- Plate: 100 g raw rice for 2
Method
- Make 3 shallow slits on each egg.
- Heat oil; add mustard and methi seeds, then curry leaves. Add shallots and garlic; cook 5 minutes until golden.
- Add tomato; cook 3 minutes until soft. Add kuzhambu powder and turmeric; stir 30 seconds.
- Add tamarind water, jaggery and salt. Simmer 10–12 minutes until the raw tamarind smell is gone and the gravy thickens and glistens with oil.
- Add eggs; simmer 5 minutes so they absorb the gravy. Serve with rice.
Protein optimisation
- Eggs supply 16 g per serving; shallots, garlic and spices 2 g; rice 3.5 g on the plate.
- Boost: add 1 more egg (+3 g protein, +36 kcal per serving), or serve with 100 g curd (+3.5 g protein, +60 kcal).
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Chettinad style — add 1 tsp roasted fennel and pepper powder.
- Substitution: groundnut oil instead of gingelly oil.
- Storage: 2 days refrigerated; flavour deepens overnight.
- Food safety: refrigerate within 2 hours.
- Meal prep: good — make the gravy ahead; add eggs on the day.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com