First, let’s make the kuruma masala paste. Heat oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds. Add in the poppy seeds, shallots, garlic and cashews. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, coconut and turmeric powder. The coconut and the cashews make the kuruma very rich and give a nice body and thickness to the kuruma. Saute for a minute. Remove the pan from heat and set aside to cool.

Transfer the mixture to a blender/mixie and add about half a cup of water. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Now, let us make the kuruma. Heat oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds,  fennel seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Add the sliced shallots to the pan. Cook till the shallots are soft. It will take about 2-3 minutes. Add in the tomato and the salt. Cook for a couple of minutes till the tomato is soft. Add in the ground paste. Wash the blender/mixie with water and add to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the curry for five minutes.

Add the boiled eggs to the pan. Makes some cuts on the eggs so the kurma flavour penetrates into the egg. Simmer the curry for a couple of minutes. Finally, finish the curry by adding a generous sprinkling of coriander leaves.

Serve with Idli, Dosai and Appam.