Kerala Style Egg Curry With Coconut Milk (Nadan Mutta Curry)

Kerala Style Egg Curry with Coconut Milk (Nadan Mutta Curry) is a simple, quick dish ready in 30 minutes without any heavy preparation. You just need coconut milk and a few basic home pantry spices.

This curry is creamy but still holds a light gravy texture with a gentle Kerala spice hit. It is not too rich and does not overpower the base masala or the eggs.

This dish is perfect for both breakfast and dinner. Scroll down for the authentic recipe, smart variations, ideal pairings, and expert kitchen tips to recreate it at home.

What is Kerala Style Egg curry with coconut milk?

Kerala Style Egg Curry with Coconut Milk is a mildly spiced curry made with boiled eggs, coconut milk, and Kerala spices. It begins with an onion-tomato masala and ends with a creamy coconut milk gravy that coats the eggs gently.

The process starts with spluttering mustard seeds in coconut oil, followed by curry leaves, onions, green chilli, ginger-garlic, and ground spices. Once the base is cooked, boiled eggs and thick coconut milk are added. This final step brings the curry together and creates its signature flavour.

This egg and coconut milk pairing is bold and widely loved across India. Goan egg curry includes coconut milk too, though the method differs and often features tamarind. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka offer their own versions using local spice profiles and cooking techniques.

Outside India, Sri Lanka has a similar dish called Biththara Hodi, often made with pandan leaves. Thai versions include lemongrass and regional herbs. Despite the differences, the core combination stays the same : egg and coconut milk.

If you prefer a dry, spicier take without coconut milk, explore our detailed Kerala Style Egg Roast Recipe.

Why You'll Love This Recipe?

You’ll love this recipe for its perfect balance of flavor, warmth, and ease. The natural sweetness of coconut milk softens the heat from Kerala spices. The aroma of mustard seeds and curry leaves spluttering in coconut oil brings that familiar, comforting feel of home.

Its deep orange shade comes from turmeric, chilli powder, and the way coconut milk blends into the masala. The color is rich. The taste is even better.

This is a true Kerala classic. It’s simple to cook, uses everyday ingredients, and pairs beautifully with appam, puttu, chapathi, or rice.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Eggs

Use hard-boiled eggs. Score or cut them in half before adding to the curry.

2. Coconut Milk

This recipe uses both thick and thin coconut milk. Thick milk is the first extract from freshly grated coconut, while thin milk is the second extract made by blending the same coconut with more water. If fresh coconut milk is not available, you can substitute with desiccated coconut, coconut milk powder, canned coconut milk, or coconut paste.

3. Spices and Base Ingredients

Mustard seeds, onion, green chilli, curry leaves, garlic paste, ginger paste, turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, pepper powder, garam masala, fennel powder, coriander powder, tomato, coconut oil, and salt.

Exact quantities and detailed steps are provided in the recipe card below.

Variations to Try

1. Base Swap: Roasted Coconut Version
   For a richer flavor, skip the coconut milk and use roasted coconut paste instead. Lightly roast grated coconut with spices, grind it into a smooth paste, and add it to the curry. This style, called Varutharacha Curry, works well with chicken, prawns, or fish. If you like this, try our detailed Nadan Varutharacha Kozhi Curry Recipe.
   
2. Add-ons for Volume
   To make the curry more filling, add potatoes. They soak up the flavors and pair perfectly with the coconut-based gravy, just like in our beef and potato coconut milk curry.
   
3. Quick Egg Option
   If you don’t have time to boil eggs, crack raw eggs directly into the simmering curry. Avoid stirring; let the eggs cook gently until set.
   
4. To Adjust Taste
   Add kudampuli (Malabar tamarind) along with the coconut milk to give the curry a slight sourness that balances the richness.
   
5. Protein Swap
   Replace eggs with vegetarian options like paneer, soya chunks, or potatoes. The same base also works well with chicken. For more, try our detailed Nadan Thengapal Kozhi Curry recipe.

How To Make Kerala Style Egg curry with coconut milk (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Hard-boil the eggs - Place eggs in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Heat over high heat just to a boil. Remove from the burner. Cover the pan. Let eggs stand in hot water about 9 minutes for medium eggs, 12 minutes for large eggs, and 15 minutes for extra-large ones.
2. Drain immediately and cool completely under cold running water. De-shell the eggs and cut in half. Slit the eggs. Prepare masala - Thinly slice onion. Crush or grind ginger and garlic into a paste.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Splutter mustard seeds.
4. Add onion, green chili, curry leaves, and some salt into the pan. Salt absorbs moisture from the onion and helps the onion to cook faster. Sauté it well until the onion turns light brown.

5. Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté them well.
6. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, pepper powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and fennel powder. Add oil as required. Sauté it well for 3 - 4 minutes.
7. Slice the tomato. Add it to the masala and sauté well.
8. Once tomatoes are cooked, add thin coconut milk (Second extract). Add salt as needed. Mix it well. Refer to notes on how to make coconut milk from scratch.

9. Add the prepared boiled eggs to the gravy. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes for the masala to coat the egg. If you like more egg flavor in the gravy, mash one of the egg yolks into the gravy.
10. Add thick coconut milk(first extract) and gently swirl the pan without breaking the eggs. Once it boils, and the gravy has the desired consistency, switch off the flame.

If you prefer a seafood version of this dish, try our detailed Thengapal Meen Curry Recipe.

Tips And Tricks

1. The onion-tomato base is crucial. Cook onions slowly and patiently until golden brown edges appear. Keep the heat low when adding spices to avoid burning, which can cause a bitter taste.
2. You can either score the hard-boiled eggs or cut them in half. Scoring lets flavors seep in without breaking the yolk. Halving releases the yolk into the curry if not handled carefully. This adds a richer texture and deeper flavor.
3. To prepare fresh coconut milk, grind 1½ cups grated coconut with ½ cup lukewarm water to get thick coconut milk. Then grind the same coconut with 1 cup lukewarm water to get medium-thick coconut milk. Using lukewarm water helps extract the milk better.
4. Avoid boiling the curry too much after adding thick coconut milk. A gentle simmer is enough to prevent the coconut milk from splitting and keep the curry smooth.

Serving Suggestions

Nadan Mutta Curry is best served as a breakfast dish with noolputtu or Soft Appams. It also pairs well with pathiri, dosa, or bread for a simple morning meal.

For lunch, it goes perfectly with ghee rice or plain steamed rice.

At dinner, enjoy this curry with chapathi or porotta. Naan and koboos are also great options to complement the flavors.

Storage Instructions

Store Kerala Style Egg Curry with Coconut Milk in a clean, airtight container in the fridge. It stays fresh for 2 to 3 days.

When reheating, warm the curry gently on a low flame. Avoid sudden high heat, as it can affect the egg texture and cause the coconut milk to split.

Freezing the curry is possible, but not recommended. Coconut milk may split or become grainy after thawing. Additionally, freezing eggs can alter their texture, making them rubbery or watery when reheated.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

More Kerala Curries Made with Coconut Milk

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have tried this! Please leave a ⭐️ rating and a comment below. Don’t forget to share your photos on Instagram and tag @a_little_bit_of_spice.

Kerala Egg Curry With Coconut Milk (Nadan Mutta Curry)

Jane Jojo

Boiled eggs simmered in coconut milk with onion, ginger- garlic and spices. One of the easy and tasty side dish that you can prepare very quickly. Mostly served for breakfast with Appam(Rice and Coconut pancake) or Noolappam (String Hoppers) or Puttu (Rice Steamed Cake) or Roti.

3.88 from 54 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 37 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian, kerala

Servings 4 servings

Calories 288 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 numbers egg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ▢ 1 number onion (large)
• ▢ 3 numbers green chilli
• ▢ 2 sprigs curry leaves
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons garlic (paste)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons ginger (paste)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pepper powder
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
• ▢ ½ teaspoon fennel powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ▢ 1 number tomato (medium)
• ▢ 1 ½ cups Medium thick coconut milk
• ▢ ¾ cup Thick coconut milk
• ▢ salt
• ▢ Coconut oil / vegetable oil / sunflower oil

Instructions

 

• Hard boil the eggs - Place eggs in a saucepan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Heat over high heat just to boiling. Remove from the burner. Cover pan. Let eggs stand in hot water about 9 minutes for medium eggs, 12 minutes for large eggs and 15 minutes for extra large ones.
  
• Drain immediately and cool completely under cold running water. De-shell the eggs and cut into half. Slit the eggs.
  
• Prepare masala - Thinly slice onion. Crush or grind ginger and garlic into a paste form.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Splutter mustard seeds.
  
• Add onion, green chili, curry leaves and some salt into the pan. Salt absorbs moisture from onion and helps onion to get cooked fast. Saute it well until onion turns light brown.
  
• Add ginger and garlic paste and saute it well.
  
• Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, pepper powder, coriander powder, garam masala and fennel powder. Add oil as required. Saute it well for 3 - 4 minutes.
  
• Slice tomato. Add it to the masala and saute well.
  
• Once tomatoes are cooked, add medium thick coconut milk. Add salt as needed. Mix it well. Refer notes on how to make coconut milk from scratch.
  
• Add the prepared boiled eggs into the gravy. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes for the masala to coat in the egg. If you like more egg flavor in the gravy, mash one of the egg yolks into the gravy.
  
• Add thick coconut milk and gently swirl the pan without breaking the eggs. Once it boils, and the gravy has desired consistency, switch off the flame.
  
• Serve it with Appam or Noolappam or Puttu or Roti 🙂

Notes

1. Preparation of coconut milk - Grind 1 ½ cup grated coconut with ½ cup luke warm water. ½ cup thick coconut milk can be extracted from this. Luke warm water helps you to extract coconut milk well.
2. Grind the same coconut with 1 cup luke warm water. 1 cup medium thick coconut milk can be prepared from this.

Nutrition

Serving: 300gCalories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 4gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 26gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 57mgPotassium: 390mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 671IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 4mg

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