Christopher Kimball's Milk Street airs Saturdays at 3:00 pm.

No, it's not National Egg Day, or Curry Day, or Braising Day. Sometimes you don't need an excuse for a recipe. Try these warming curry braised eggs from Christopher Kimball's Milk Street today, and keep the recipe for those cool autumn nights.

Curry Braised Eggs

Eggs are bit players in Western dinners. We eat them for breakfast and brunch, but come evening they rarely appear except as accessories for the put-an-egg-on-it crowd. The rest of the world knows better. Portugal, for example, has ervilhas com ovos, braised eggs cooked with spicy or sweet Portuguese chouriço sausage and/or bacon and peas. In India, there is muttai kuzhambu, a type of egg curry. Both dishes are built on layers of seasoning that balance the richness of the eggs. We liked the way garam masala—a warmly flavored Indian seasoning blend—added complex flavor with just one ingredient. For our vegetables, we started with onions and found that sliced worked better than diced, adding texture and helping the sauce hold its shape. We let the sauce cool a bit in the dish before adding the eggs to ensure even cooking. While we like runny yolks, feel free to leave the dish in the oven a bit longer for firm yolks. Don’t forget that every oven is different, not to mention every egg. Cooking times will depend on oven temperature, as well as the size and temperature of the eggs.

Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (50 minutes active)

Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Three 14½-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained
14-ounce can coconut milk
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
Ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
8 large eggs
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Steamed basmati rice, nan or boiled potatoes, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375ºF with a rack in the lower-middle position. In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven over medium, heat the oil. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the ginger, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring and scraping the pan, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lime juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Use the back of a spoon to make 8 evenly spaced wells in the sauce. Crack 1 egg into each well, then season the eggs with salt and pepper.

3. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the egg whites are opaque but still jiggle slightly, 13 to 18 minutes, rotating the pot halfway through. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges and rice, nan or potatoes, if desired.