Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce

This spicy tomato cream sauce is an Indian recipe that goes wonderfully with hard-boiled eggs and warm bread (such as naan, pita, or French bread). It’s also nice with rice, pasta, or polenta.

Yield about 3 cups
Time 20 minutes
Tools
  • small frying pan
  • wooden spoon
  • mortar and pestle or spice grinder
  • large frying pan
Ingredients
  • 1½ t cumin seeds
  • 2 T peanut or canola oil
  • 10 fresh curry leaves (optional)
  • 1 medium shallot, peeled and minced
  • 1 t fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 cloved garlic, crushed
  • 2 c tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and minced
  • 1 green chile, minced
  • ¼ t cayenne pepper
  • 1 t garam masala
  • 1 c heavy cream
  • 2 T cilantro, minced
  • ½-1 t salt
  • black pepper
Directions Place 1 t cumin seeds in small pan and heat over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until they darken and smell roasted. Grind and set aside.

Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add remaining ½ t cumin seeds and cook for 10 seconds, then add curry and shallot.

Sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, then add ginger and garlic, cook 10 seconds, add tomatoes, chile, cayenne, the roasted/ground cumin, and garam masala. Stir for 1 minute, cover, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cream, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To serve with eggs, place 8-12 hardboiled, peeled eggs in the sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, for one minute. Serve each person an egg or two with plenty of sauce.

Notes This recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian cookbook, in which it is called Hard-Boiled Eggs in a Tomato-Cream Sauce.

Indian Recipe Index

  Key to abbreviations and conversions
Sauce Recipes     Vegetarian Cookbooks