Spicy Egg Pepper Kuruma, Amma’s Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma. Egg Pepper Kuruma – Fiery hot and awesome recipe for South Indian Kongunad style egg curry and pepper explained with step by step pictures and video.
This is my mothers signature dish. She would make this for Sunday lunch when we were young. It has also featured on all our birthdays. I like it so much that I ask her to do this for me whenever she visits Bangalore. Egg curry and rice is all you need after a long day. Boiled fried eggs are added to a coconut pepper masala. This particular recipe is very famous in Coimbatore – Kongunadu region which is where I am from. There is no ginger or garlic in this curry and that makes this unique. This recipe is good served with rice. Rice is my first choice. Its equally good for idli and dosa. We make it spicy at home and black pepper is the only spice used. Please adjust the level of black pepper in recipe to suit your family’s taste.
Here are other egg recipes from the site.
Egg Recipes
Here is the video of how to make Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma for rice.
Here is how to make Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma for rice.
First, lets make a masala for the kuruma.
Heat oil in a pan. Indian sesame oil is what is used in this recipe. Peanut oil or vegetable oil can also be used. Add in the black pepper, cinnamon, coriander seeds and curry leaves. There is no ginger or garlic in this recipe. Similarly, there is no green chillies or red chillies used to spice up the gravy. Black pepper is the only spice used. If you are making this dish for the first time, use only a tablespoon of black pepper.
Add in the onions and sauté till the onions are soft.
Add in the tomatoes, salt and tamarind. Sauté on a medium flame till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
Add in the white poppy seeds and fresh shredded coconut. If you cannot source poppy seeds in a place where you live or the ingredient is banned where you live, use about 5-6 cashew nuts in place of poppy seeds. Or one can even just omit it. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
Let the mixture cool a bit. Add about a cup of water and grind the mixture to a fine paste. Grinding the mixture to a fine paste is very important. So take your time and grind it to a fine paste in a mixie. Set aside.
Tempering the Kongunadu egg pepper kuruma.
Heat oil in a pan and add in curry leaves and chopped onions. Sauté till the onions are soft.
Add in the turmeric powder and sauté for a few seconds.
Add in quarter cup of water.
Add in the ground paste. Wash the jar / bowl with quarter cup of water and add it back to the pan. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
In the mean time, lets fry the eggs.
Get the eggs boiled and peeled. If you want to know more about boiling eggs, Read Here. Heat oil in a pan (preferably non stick pan) and add in the eggs. Just make some incision on the eggs with a knife so the masalas can penetrate later. Sauté for a minute.
Add in the curry leaves and keep sautéing until the eggs are fried golden.
Add the eggs in the simmering gravy. After adding the eggs, just simmer the gravy for couple of minutes more. Do not cook for long.
Fantastic egg kurma is ready. Serve with hot rice. It also tastes good with idli and dosa.

Ammas Kongunad egg pepper kuruma – South Indian egg curry
Spicy Egg Pepper Kuruma, Amma’s Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma. Egg Pepper Kuruma – Fiery hot and awesome recipe for South Indian Kongunad style egg curry and pepper explained with step by step pictures and video.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Masala for the Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma
2 tablespoon Indian sesame oil
1.5 tablespoon black pepper
1 inch piece cinnamon – cassia
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 inch piece tamarind
1 tablespoon white poppy seeds
1/2 cup fresh shredded coconut
1 cup water to grind
Tempering the Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma
1 teaspoon Indian sesame oil
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup water
Fried eggs for Kongunadu Egg Pepper Kuruma
1/2 teaspoon Indian sesame oil
5 hard boiled eggs
1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
First, lets make a masala for the kuruma.
Heat oil in a pan. Indian sesame oil is what is used in this recipe. Peanut oil or vegetable oil can also be used. Add in the black pepper, cinnamon, coriander seeds and curry leaves. Add in the onions and sauté till the onions are soft. Add in the tomatoes, salt and tamarind. Sauté on a medium flame till the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Add in the white poppy seeds and fresh shredded coconut. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Let the mixture cool a bit. Add about a cup of water and grind the mixture to a fine paste.
Tempering the Kongunadu egg pepper kuruma.
Heat oil in a pan and add in curry leaves and chopped onions. Sauté till the onions are soft. Add in the turmeric powder and sauté for a few seconds. Add in quarter cup of water. Add in the ground paste. Wash the jar / bowl with quarter cup of water and add it back to the pan. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
In the mean time, lets fry the eggs.
Get the eggs boiled and peeled. If you want to know more about boiling eggs, Read Here. Heat oil in a pan (preferably non stick pan) and add in the eggs. Just make some incision on the eggs with a knife so the masalas can penetrate later. Sauté for a minute. Add in the curry leaves and keep sautéing until the eggs are fried golden.
Add the eggs in the simmering gravy. After adding the eggs, just simmer the gravy for couple of minutes more. Do not cook for long. Fantastic egg kurma is ready. Serve with hot rice. It also tastes good with idli and dosa.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Gravy
- Cuisine: South Indian
I love all your recipes they bring my grandmas aythentic home cooking taste 😋 thanks
For this egg gravy what side dish would you prefer
Thank you!
Usually had with rice.
Your recipes are my go to! Thanks for sharing them 😊
Thank You 🙂
Very nice recipe. The distinct taste of pepper is awesome. I followed the suggestion use one tb sp of pepper only. Instead of coriander seeds used coriander powder.
Thank you!
Love the recipe!! Comes out great every time. Thank you!
Thank you!
Could you from now onwards mention the numbers in addition to quantity in cups. That is number of onions, tomatoes & whole or half coconut in addition to measurements in cups.
I’m going to try this now, but gotta experiment with the quantities. I’m sure it’ll turn out delicious like your other dishes.
Hi G, the problem is with the size of the onions that we get across places. One American onion is equal to 2-3 Indian onions. I am providing recipes in cups to avoid confusion.
Tried this recipe and it turned out finger licking good! Thanks so much!
This recipe is awesome! I did reduce the pepper to just a tablespoon but next time I may go up to 1.5 tablespoons. I loved how flavorful it tasted. Thank you!!:)
Tried itTasted different from the regular curry I make. Guess it is nice to try different recepies.
Going to try it out today.ur blog has become my favorite for trying new recepies. 🖒😊
Thank you!
Hi Suguna I recently got introduced to your blog. I tried your pondicherry style egg curry and loved it.Today I tried the kongunad egg kuruma I felt the taste of pepper was lil overpowering 1.5 tablespoon seemed a lot but then I thought I will take a chance and prepare it or is that how it’s supposed to be?
Hi Radhika, this kurma has a very strong pepper flavour. Please reduce the pepper next time if you felt it was much.
Prepared this today, loved it,kids liked it too.love your blog and stories.
Thank you so much.
.Todsy this is gonna be our lunch…
Please enlighten on how to season iron pan. TIA
http://www.kannammacooks.com/how-to-season-your-iron-dosa-pan/
Tried this yesterday and we all loved it. Just a quick question, in case I do not want to use eggs nad want to make this awesome gravy for a vegetarian crowd .. which vegetable would be the best option and could you pls give me tips to incorporate the veg into the gravy??
Thanks. You can refer to http://www.kannammacooks.com/kongunad-cauliflower-kurma-vegan-cauliflower-curry/
I liked your dishes so much.Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
Hi Suguna,
First off thanks so much for the wonderful recipes. I’ve tried some of your chutneys and they have never disappointed 🙂 One question about this kurma. I’m the kind of person who cooks for a week. Do you think the eggs in the dish might start tasting weird if I keep them in an air-tight container for a week or so in the fridge? The other alternative would be to make the kurma and boil/fry eggs on demand and add to the kurma. Do let me know your suggestion! Thanks a lot
Hi Pranoti. You can make the kurma ahead. I prefer you do the eggs on demand rather than storing it as the eggs become super dry. You can store eggs for 2 days. Store it in a bowl of water so it remains soft in the refrigerator.
Thank you so much for the Recipe. Came out really well. I have tried your Vegetable Biryani recipe too. Very tasty and easy receipe. Thanks again
Thank you! Really glad it came out well.
நான் இன்று இந்த முட்டை குழம்பு செய்தேன். மிகவும் நன்றாக இருந்தது. வரமிளகாய் இல்லாததால் முதலில் சிறிது யோசனையாக இருந்தது. ஆனால் செய்தபின்பு மிளகின் சுவையோடு மிகவும் அருமையாக இருந்தது. எனது கணவர் ரசித்து சாப்பிட்டார். மிக்க நன்றி.
Thank you so much!
Suguna,
its came well.. 🙂
Thank you so much. Really glad that the recipe worked for you!
Very nice egg kurma .searching this for very long time.thanks dear.amma’s kurma excellent
I am from Africa .namibia.
Thank you so much Chitu! Do you get all the Indian ingredients in Namibia? How do you manage?
Dear Kannamma.
I am from Bangalore as well.
Thank you for the lovely reciepes, they are very easy to follow and tasty as well. Actually i should thank my husband who bumped into your website… im going to try vegetable briyani and this receipe
Keep up the good work.
Thank you Rupa.
Hello Kannamma,
Kollu rasam and egg curry is what i am going to make for lunch today.
I am almost chocked with emotions while typing this msg. I come from a brahmin family ,..as you know devoid of even onions and garlic in our cuisine but married to a hardcore coimbatore guy. I used to feel so bad not being able to cook to his taste many a time. I was not fortunate like you to have had parents and in laws from whom i could learn. I am so glad i bumped into your blog and your reciepes sound awesome / authentic and i am going to try them all. Ty and god bless !
Thank you so much for this message. This makes my day! Happy cooking!
🙂