Dimer Dalna or Spicy Egg Curry with a story of a Golden Swan

Once upon a time, a poor old couple lived in a village. They had a small happy family of two sons and two daughters. The old couple worked and saved hard to make ends meet. The old man loved his family very much and worked hard to provide them the best he could. They were happy indeed.

However the luck was not on their side. The old man fell sick and passed away. His old wife and kids were grief stricken.  The old lady cried land wailed loudly , so the neighbors vowed to take the responsibility of the poor family.

Gods listened to her cries too. The old man was reborn as a golden swan. He remembered his previous birth very well. The old man decided to help his family. He went to his sons and daughters and told them, “Dear children, I’m your father, reborn as a Golden Swan. I want to help you. Today onward I will come regularly and drop one of my golden feathers. You can collect the feather and sell that for the price of gold. With the money you get, you will be live comfortably”.  After saying that, the Swan dropped a Golden feather and flew away.

The Swan left them a Golden feather daily. The family sold the feather and very soon they were out of poverty. In a few months, they became rich and stopped visiting their neighbors. As they were living their life happily,  the old lady feared that the Swan may soon stop visiting them. So she decided to catch the swan. The children stopped her, but she would not listen.One day the old lady grabbed the swan and plucked all the feathers. The old man was disappointed at the ruthlessness of the wife he loved so dearly.

Just when she was done, she realized that all the feathers turned to normal Swan feathers. The swan told her that it was the result of the old lady being cruel and greedy. The hurt Swan left the village and left the heartbroken lady and his beloved family alone.

Slowly his family lost all wealth and became poor again. This time, even the neighbors did not help the poor family.  She learnt that hard way that her greed for more led to her downfall.

This is one of the Bengali folk tales that I plan to tell my daughter as a bedtime story, perhaps when she is a little older to understand.

I hope this can teach her the importance of not being greedy, when the whole world around her is running to get their hands on that extra goodie that they don't need.

I cried when I heard it for the first time.I think I might be five then.

So what does this story has to do with an Egg curry or Dimer Dalna?

Well, on cozy wintry night like this, Bengali's like to eat this full flavored spiced Dimer Dalna (Egg Curry ) and talk about the golden swan and the greedy old woman.

This old-fashioned Egg curry is certainly not the traditional one. But an exotic mix of two traditional Bengali recipes and some imagination. They’re delicious with a plate of hot steaming rice or a hot roti’s right off the stove. And, if you grew up somewhere in West Bengal, you can take mound or rice with the curry , read up the story and in your head you’re five years old again.


Egg Curry or Coconut Milk Spiced Dimer Dalna Ingredients:

For the Egg Curry Spice Paste
A handful Kashmiri red chilies (I tried  with 6)

2 Tsp Coriander seeds

1 Tsp Cumin seeds

½ Tsp Turmeric Powder

3 Tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp Tamarind pulp



Other Ingredients:

2-3 cloves Garlic

1 Onion


½ Cup Thick Coconut Milk

3 Eggs

2 tbsp Oil
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First grind the Egg Curry Spice Paste ingredients above with a little water.

The color should be a beautiful tangerine like the picture on your right.

Heat a deep dish pan with some oil in it,add the chopped onion and garlic and saute. Now add the Egg Curry Spice Paste. Add a little water to make a smooth paste and keep the heat on.

Now break the egg shells and lay out the yolk and whites in a dish. Just don't break the yolks and now drop the eggs carefully in the spice dish.

Cook till the egg are done. Lower the flame and then add the coconut milk, for the desired consistency and flavor.

We're done. bring on the steamed rice and enjoy.

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