Deem Postor Jhurjhuri & Deem Devils

Eggs feature quite prominently in Indian food even among the vegetarians of the south. Here are two nice egg recipes, both from Bengal. The second one, deem devil (perhaps devilled eggs) used to be a favorite at college canteens. Two deem devils and a steaming glass of oversweetened milky tea -- pretty much Heaven on earth!



The Recipes

Deem Postor Jhurjhuri

3 hard-boiled eggs
200 grams potatoes peeled and cubed
posto (poppy seeds) 100 grams
a pinch of aesofetida (hing)
2-3 fresh chillies
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp ginger paste
salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar


Soak the posto in warm water for 15 minutes then grind into a fine paste.
Heat oil, fry the potatoes till golden and keep aside.
Add hing, chillies, ginger and posto to the oil (if there is too much oil, remove some). Fry or a couple of seconds, add the salt and sugar, some water and the fried potatoes. Cook till all the water has evaporated. Chop up the boiled eggs and add it to the potatoes, and mix well till the dish looks crumbly. Top with chopped chillies and serve hot.



Deem Devil


4 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled ( halve lengthwise carefully)
5 medium potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
2 onions, grated
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tbsps coriander leaves chopped
oil for frying
salt to taste


Heat a little oil and add all powdered spices, onions and the ginger-garlic paste and salt. Fry quickly for a bit and add the breadcrumbs and potatoes, remove from heat and knead this mixture into oval hollowed-out cavities that should resemble the halved egg (and be a little bigger in size than the halved egg). Fit this cavity around the halved hard-boiled egg and shallow fry in hot oil. Sprinkle eggs with chopped coriander leaves before serving.


Note: 'deem' is the Bengali word for egg