The Covered Dish - Curry Egg Salad

Curry spice is another one of those herbs that most people will say they either love or hate. There’s no in between ground, a bit like cilantro in the culinary world. I totally disliked curry after a dear friend made chicken curry salad and used too much curry. It was such a turn-off for me I never made any curry dishes for years. Then; I didn’t take them anywhere because the like/dislike on the spice is so strong. If you’re family members or friends stay pretty much inside the box when it comes to foods, or they are referred to as a ‘meat and potatoes’ person, it’s pretty likely they won’t even try curry. Even on oriental buffets I can’t say I’ve seen many curry based dishes.
The English word for ‘curry’ comes from a Tamil work Kari, which refers to a spiced sauce or soup served with rice. Curry originated over 4,000 years ago in the Indian subcontinent. It was a spice used on meats and stews and it became popular through European trade, colonization and migration.
Back as early as 2500 BCE archaeologists found traces of turmeric, ginger and garlic in cooking pots. Before the arrival of hot chilies the early dishes relied upon black pepper, cardamom, coriander and cumin. In every country the spice became implemented in different ways. During the British Raj, colonizers used India’s diverse spice in a bottled form called ‘curry powder’. All in an effort to duplicate flavors from back home. The first time we found curry published in a recipe was back in 1747. Curry also traveled to Japan transforming it into a naval staple in the late 19th century.
In the Caribbean laborers from India brought the spice and recipes during the 19th century, adding it to goat and chicken curries.
Curry Powder itself is actually a spice that originated in India and it was a mixture of several different spices. Most Indians still prefer to make their curry from their scratch recipe and don’t usually reach for ‘curry powder’. In fact research shows they get very confused over what we call ‘curry powder’.
Yes, there is a curry tree, but once cooked and ground it tastes nothing like our ‘curry powder’. Wow, this is a great deal of information, isn’t it? Let’s go one more direction, health benefits.
Curry Powder is great with inflammation and digestion. Ginger and black pepper stimulate digestive enzymes and eases bloating and gas. The curcumin in turmeric fights inflammation and helps lower stress in cells. It can help stabilize blood sugar levels. The turmeric helps the heart by boosting blood flow, lowering blood pressure and reducing cholesterol. It boosts brain functions and many believe it may lower the risk of diseases like Alzheimers. Most curries are wonderful antioxidants because they contain spices like turmeric, coriander, coriander, cumin and ginger.
If you have never eaten curry I would suggest trying the egg salad because it’s a very economical dish to make, in the event you find it doesn’t float you boat! The other dish I enjoy with curry powder is chicken salads. On our recent cruise I enjoyed it in many different presentations including shrimp. Simply yours, The Covered Dish.


Curry Egg Salad
8 hard boiled eggs, reserve 2 yolks
2 average size chilled Claussen Dill pickles
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 tablespoon finely minced onion or 4-6 green onions, chopped fine
Seasoning salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Dressing
2 reserved egg yolks
2 teaspoons regular prepared mustard
2 tablespoons original ‘Chick Fil a’ sauce
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise of choice
1 1⁄4 teaspoons ground curry
This is pretty much a simple curry egg salad with a few explanations on some ingredients.
1. I used an egg slicer to chop my egg salad eggs.
2. Claussen Pickles are supposed to be the ‘best’ pickles because they are refrigerated. First, they are extremely crispy, due to being refrigerated. Lastly, the flavor is outstanding.
3. ‘Chick Fil a’ sauce is a real winner for the condiment shelf.
4. If I were making this for myself I might increase the curry to 1 1⁄2 teaspoons.
On the dressing I use a fork and crumble the 2 egg yolks until they are fine. Then I add the remaining 4 ingredients and work until smooth before adding to the salad ingredients. Additional ingredients might be finely chopped roasted peppers, drained well. Olives, green & not too many.
I can eat this for a snack, breakfast or brunch. It’s nice served inside small tomatoes, but one of my favorite ways is on a piece of rye or pumpernickel bread that has been toasted. I also use only one slice, keeping it ‘open faced’, with a tomato wedge and maybe fresh chopped parsley on top. In some of egg salads I use dry dill, but I felt in this recipe the dill would present a conflict with the curry.