Name: Dimer dalna | Dimer jhol | Bengali egg curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Bengali
Ingredients: To marinate the eggs; 6 Eggs; ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder; ½ teaspoon Salt; To marinate the potato; 2 Potatoes cut into 4 pieces each; ½ teaspoon Salt; ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder; For the spice paste; 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon red Chilli powder; 1 teaspoon Cumin powder; 1 teaspoon Coriander powder; 3 tablespoons Water; Other ingredients for dimer dalna; 2 large Onions, thin sliced; 2 large Tomatoes, small diced; ½ tablespoon Ginger paste; 1 tablespoon Garlic, finely chopped; 2-3 green Chillies; ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds; 2 dry red Chillies; 1 Bay leaf; 1-inch Cinnamon stick; 3-4 Cardamoms; 4 Cloves; 1 teaspoon Bengali Garam Masala; 1 teaspoon Ghee aka clarified Butter; 1 teaspoon Sugar; Salt to taste

Dimer dalna aka dimer jhol recipe is a scrumptious, spicy, and flavored Bengali egg curry that is crazily popular among Bengalis. In this preparation, hard-boiled eggs are marinated, fried, and then cooked in onion-tomato gravy with some specific spices. This versatile dimer dalna recipe is an asset of Bengali cuisine which is frequently prepared in every Bengali household. It is mostly relished with steamed rice and sometimes with roti too. It could be a perfect addition to your lunch or dinner during busy working days.

Table of Contents

About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Dimer dalna (step wise photos)
Recipe Card

What is dimer dalna?

Dimer dalna is a pure Bengali delicacy and the name of the recipe itself explains the dish. The word ‘Dim’ stands for Egg and ‘Dalna’ is basically a Bengali speciality in which the curry is prepared using potato chunks and tomato. The consistency of the gravy is slightly runny. Sometimes onion-garlic is used in dalna and sometimes not.

First of all, I am an egg lover since my childhood and can have it in any form, except raw. My mom used to prepare a variety of egg curry recipe to bring a smile to my face. I am sure many Egg lovers like me would have the same story to share. Today, I am going to dedicate this recipe to all egg lovers. This dish will be a feast for them.

Whenever I talk about dimer dalna, it always makes me feel nostalgic. As a bong, I have grown up eating this delicacy and have never got bored with it yet. I still remember how my mother used to prepare it during my school days because I used to take a lot of time to separate the bones from fish and finish my meal. Hence, she used to prefer egg curries over fish curries during my school days. She used to serve it mostly as a side with plain rice, dal and jhuri aloo bhaja and we used to devour that with immense pleasure. I have learned this traditional Bengali food recipe from her.

Dimer dalna is a very simple and easy recipe. It requires very limited ingredients which are easily available in any Bengali kitchen pantry. It is a pure Bengali delicacy and you will get the essence of Bengal in it. The best part of the recipe is that you can refrigerate it for a couple of days and it will taste the same.

Dimer dalna with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instruction’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks below. If you follow each step of my recipe precisely then you will get dimer jhol recipe with perfect flavor and consistency which will even taste better than in restaurants.

Tips to prepare perfect dimer dalna

Marinate the hard-boiled eggs and potato chunks with salt and turmeric powder before frying them.
Fry the potatoes and eggs separately because both of them have different cooking times.
Always use mustard oil to cook dimer dalna bengali recipe. It gives better flavour and taste to the dish.
Don’t skip the whole spices from the recipe. It induces a nice aroma into the oil.
Make a separate spice paste with the ground spices to make the recipe handy.
Don’t skip the Bengali garam masala powder and ghee from the recipe. It gives the authentic Bengali flavour of the dish.

How to boil an egg perfectly?

Perfectly boiled eggs are the key ingredient for dimer jhol recipe. It is very important not to over boil the eggs and also not to get the green strains on egg yolk. Honestly, no one likes it. So it is very important to boil the eggs perfectly.

Put a pan on flame and add enough water into it. Cook it over a high flame until the water starts boiling. Then put the flame on low and add the eggs slowly into the water. Put the flame in high and boil it for exactly 10 minutes. Switch off the flame and immediately transfer the eggs into cold water and wait for 10 minutes. Let the eggs cool down completely before peeling the shell. This is how you can get perfectly boiled eggs.

How to peel boiled eggs?

Many people face difficulty during the time of peeling boiled eggs because the shell gets stuck to the egg whites. There are a few hacks to peel the boiled eggs properly without any difficulty.

Don’t use fresh eggs to prepare dimer dalna. Wait for a couple of days and then use it. Sometimes it is difficult to peel fresh eggs.
Don’t even use very old eggs too. Try to use eggs that are 2-3 days old for the recipe.
Allow the boiled eggs to cool down completely before peeling.

How to make dimer dalna?

To prepare the dimer dalna recipe, first, wash and cut all the vegetables and make them ready for use.

On the other hand, bring a pot of water to boil and then turn the flame low. Add the eggs carefully into the water with a skimmer so that the eggs don’t crack. Turn the flame high and allow it to boil for exactly 10 minutes.

During this time, make a large bowl ready filled with cold water. Then drain the eggs and immediately place them in a cold water-filled bowl. Let the eggs sit for 10 minutes to cool down completely.

Then peel the eggs and give slight cuts on its body with the help of a knife from the sides. But make sure it should not get cut into pieces.

Sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder on the eggs and rub them evenly on each piece.

Marinate the potato chunks with salt and turmeric powder.

Then put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot. Generally, most of the traditional Bengali food is cooked in mustard oil. It gives an outstanding flavor to the dish.

Add the potato chunks into the pan and then fry them till crisp and golden in colour. Then keep them aside on a separate plate.

In the same pan, add the marinated eggs and fry them evenly till crispy golden brown over medium flame. Then strain the eggs and keep them aside on a separate plate.

In the same pan, add some more oil if required and once the oil is hot, add whole spices – bay leaf, dry red chillies, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Add sugar into the pan and give a quick stir to caramelize the onion. Then immediately add the sliced onion and give a quick stir. Cook it for 8-10 minutes until soft in texture and pink in colour.

Then add ginger paste and finely chopped garlic and mix it well. Cook it in medium flame for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell goes away.

Add the tomato chunks into the pan and give a nice mix. Add salt, 2-3 green chillies, and give a nice stir. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 6-7 minutes until the tomatoes get mushy.

In the meantime, take a bowl and add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and some water into it. Make a paste of the spices and add it into the pan. Cook it in low flame for another couple of minutes until the masala releases oil.

Add the fried potato chunks, eggs into the pan and mix them with the masala. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for a couple of minutes.

Then add water into the pan and give a nice stir. Cover the pan and put the flame in high until the gravy starts boiling. Then put the flame in low and cook it for another 5 minutes.

The consistency of the dimer dalna gravy is slightly runny. But you can prepare it according to your own preference.

At the final stage of cooking, add Bengali garam masala powder and ghee (clarified butter), one by one into the pan. These spices complement the flavor of the dish very well.

Check the salt of the curry and add if required. Simmer the gravy for 10-15 more seconds and then switch off the flame.

Many egg curry for chapathi has already been shared in my previous post. You may like a few of them.

Spicy egg curry
Egg korma
Omelette curry
Coriander egg curry

..And Many more…

Ingredients:

To marinate the eggs

6 Eggs
½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
½ teaspoon Salt

To marinate the potato

2 Potatoes cut into 4 pieces each
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder

For the spice paste

1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red Chilli powder
1 teaspoon Cumin powder
1 teaspoon Coriander powder
3 tablespoons Water

Other ingredients for dimer dalna

2 large Onions, thin sliced
2 large Tomatoes, small diced
½ tablespoon Ginger paste
1 tablespoon Garlic, finely chopped
2-3 green Chillies
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 dry red Chillies
1 Bay leaf
1-inch Cinnamon stick
3-4 Cardamoms
4 Cloves
1 teaspoon Bengali Garam Masala
1 teaspoon Ghee aka clarified Butter
1 teaspoon Sugar
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons Mustard oil
2 cups Water, adjust accordingly

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to boil and once the water starts boiling then turn the flame low.
Add 6 eggs carefully into the water with a skimmer so that the eggs don’t crack. Turn the flame high and allow it to boil for exactly 10 minutes.
During this time, make a large bowl ready, filled with cold water. Then drain the eggs and immediately place them in a cold water-filled bowl. Let the eggs sit for 10 minutes to cool down completely.
Peel the eggs and give slight cuts on its body with the help of a knife from the sides. But make sure it should not get cut into pieces.
Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon turmeric powder on the eggs and rub them evenly on each piece.
Cut each medium-sized potato into four pieces. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, and mix it nicely to coat each potato piece. Keep it aside.
Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 3 tablespoons of mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
Add the marinated potato chunk into the pan and then fry them evenly over medium to medium-high flame for 8-10 minutes till crisp and golden in colour. Then keep them aside on a separate plate.
In the same pan, add marinated eggs and fry them evenly over medium flame for 2-3 minutes till crispy and golden brown in colour. Then strain the eggs out and keep them aside.
In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon mustard oil. Once the oil is hot, add whole spices – 1 bay leaf, 2 dry red chillies, 4 cloves, 1-inch cinnamon stick, 3 cardamoms, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Add 1 teaspoon sugar into the pan and give a quick stir to caramelize the onion.
Immediately, add the sliced onion and give a quick stir. Cook it for 8-10 minutes until soft in texture and pink in colour.
Add ½ tablespoon ginger paste and 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and mix it well. Cook it in medium flame for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell goes away.
Add the chopped tomatoes, 2-3 green chillies into the pan and give a nice mix.
Add salt and give a nice stir. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 6-7 minutes until the tomatoes get mushy.
In the meantime, take a bowl and add 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, and 3 tablespoons of water into it. Mix it thoroughly and make a paste of the spices.
Add the masala paste into the pan and mix it well. Cook it in low flame for another 2-3 minutes so the masala can get cooked properly.
Add the fried potato chunks, eggs into the pan and mix them with the masala. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for a couple of minutes.
Add 2 cups of water into the pan for the gravy and give a nice stir. Cover the pan and put the flame in high until the gravy starts boiling. Then put the flame in low and cook it for another 5-6 minutes. Note: The consistency of the dimer dalna gravy is slightly runny. But you can prepare it according to your own preference.
Add 1 teaspoon bengali garam masala powder and 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter), one by one into the pan and give a nice mix.
Simmer the gravy in high flame for another 10-15 more seconds and check the salt of the gravy before switching off the flame. Add more if required and mix it well. Then switch off the flame.

Serving Instruction

Transfer the dimer dalna into a serving bowl or on a serving plate. Serve hot or warm to enjoy its best taste. Pair up the comfort food with steamed rice and enjoy the classic Bengali delight.