For the curry
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan and add onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. Cover and cook gently over a low heat for approximately 15 minutes until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid, turn up the heat and brown the onions, but watch that they don’t burn.
- Sprinkle the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander, turmeric, chilli seeds, gram marsala, cardamom pods and bay leaf – cooking for a further 2 minutes to warm the spices and release the aromas. Add the tomatoes, lentils, chutney and water to the sauce. Season with black pepper and cook gently for a further 20 minutes regularly stirring and adding more vegetable stock if needed.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and take out the bay leaf. Let the sauce cool. Then add the double cream, stir and keep warm.
- Half fill a large saucepan with cold water, add the eggs, cover with the lid and bring to the boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain in a sieve and leave under running water until the shells feel cold and you can carefully crack and peel the shells off, cut in half.
- Warm the sauce through gently, stirring constantly. When the sauce gently bubbles, add the eggs and heat them for 3 minutes, stirring gently and spooning the hot sauce over them. If the sauce is thick, add a couple of tablespoons of water to thin it down.
- Serve the curried eggs with coconut and coriander chutney (method below) and with some freshly boiled basmati rice. Alternatively, you can serve the curry with yoghurt and mango chutney.