Whole30, day 15: Eggs in Indian spiced tomato sauce

Two weeks in and I keep feeling better and better. The lovely spring weather is helping, but it can't get all the credits. I'm not sure what it is, because I have been eating pretty much primally since august 2011. Does not eating any dairy really make me feel this much better? Or is it the lack of crappy sweeteners (I was using quite a lot of sucralose and I was sneaking more and more diet coke into my diet)? If I'm honest, I hope it's the sweeteners, because I think it's easier to live without...

It amazes me what a challenge like this can do to the way you think and feel about food. When I started this only two weeks ago, I told myself I could stuck to anything for only thirty days, but I would definitely eat cheese or cream as soon as those thirty days were over. Now, only two weeks later, I think I could live without dairy for a few more weeks. It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I used make quite a few dishes with cream in it. Now I use coconut milk or creamed coconut a little more and I really don't care much for heavy cream. Ghee is nearly as good as butter and a tablespoon of fruit juice in a dressing is just as fine as artificial sweetener. I won't say I will never have any dairy or sweetener again, I'm sure I will, but honestly...it's a lot easier than I imagined. And maybe it sounds a little silly, but that insight, that I don't need all these things, makes me feel happy and kind of liberated. What a thirty day challenge can do....
And now, todays food: An Indian spiced tomato sauce with eggs. Seriously, this is good! There's this spice mix called "Panch Phoron" or "Panch Phoran" or whatever...apparently there's not one way to spell it. Anyway, however it's spelled, it's very very tasty. It's a mix of equal parts of cumin seeds, nigella, fennugreek, fennel seeds and black mustard seeds. This combination is really special and aromatic. I don't use it very often, but every time I do, I always think I should use it more. It's really that good.

This recipe is a very nice and cheap way to make a meal. Eggs are not very expensive and a can of tomatoes costs next to nothing. Maybe you have to invest in some of the spices, but I can tell you that's worth it. Here's the recipe:

Eggs in Indian spiced tomato sauce (sauce for 2-3)

Hard boiled eggs, as much as you like. I used 5 for 2 people. The sauce is enough for about 8 eggs.
1 can of tomatoes (400 gr. / 14 oz.)
1 tablespoon panch phoron
1,5 inch (3-3.5 cm) ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp turmeric powder


In a blender, combine tomatoes, ginger, garlic and onion. Blend until it's a smooth paste.

In a pan, heat about 1 tbsp of fat. When hot (a little smoky), put in the panch phoron and stir immediately, turning the heat to low. Stir for 10-20 seconds and be careful not to burn the spice mix. Pour in the tomato mix and stir wel. Add the salt, coriander and turmeric and mix well. Simmer on low heat for about fifteen minutes to reduce the sauce a little.

Cut the eggs lengthwise in half and place them carefully in the sauce. Let them simmer in the sauce for about five to ten more minutes until they're warmed through and have taken on some of the sauce.

We served this with cauliflower rice. Enjoy!