A rich and delicious gravy makes this

gg curr perfect for a winter night

BY DHANYA SAMUEL

urma,alsoreferredtoas Kor1na/ Qormaisa traditional[ndiancurry thathasacreamyconsistencyfron1 the use ofyoghurt, spices and aromatics. Thepreparationofakurn1avaries betweenregions;theNorthIndianversions oftenuse crean1ornut pastes (cashewnuts, aln1onds)forrichnessand thisalsoaddsto the crean1inessofthe finalcurry.Butinthe Chettinadversion(quite si1nilartootherSouth Indianversions),theyoghurt andcrea1n are insteadreplacedby coconut toachievethat crean1yconsistency.

ThisChettinad-style kurmaalsousespoppy seeds, a surpriseingredientbutoften usedin manyChettinadcurrypastesfor itsunique nuttyflavourand thecreamythicknessitlends tothegravy.

When we thinkofa kurma,it'seithera vegetarian versionora meat-basedversion thatco1neston1ind. Eggisanunlikelychoice, butyouwillbe surprisedjusthowdelicious thischoicecan be.It'sagreat optionifyou are an egg-etarianorifyou prefertoavoid meatduringthe weekdaysyetcrave fora rich anddeliciouscurry especiallyinthisfreezing winter

The key flavoursof thiseggkurma areinthe wetpaste.The spices, aron1atics, poppy seeds andcoconutare slow-roastedto drawoutthe flavoursandthengroundtoa paste.Thisisthe only step thatrequirespatienceandcare asto notburnthe spicesorcoconut.The restofthe recipe is super simple and straightforward.

Whenn1akinga curryusinghardboiled eggs,agood tip wouldbe to slit the hardboiled eggs into halvesorto scorethe eggslightly lengthwiseifyoupreferto keeptheeggswhole. Thisallowstheeggsto absorbtheflavours fromthegravy. Eggyolkswhendrenched in the curry sauce arejustoutofthisworld!!

The ChettinadEgg Kunnacan bepaired withall kindsofIndianflatbreadslike parottas, chappatis, rotis,naanetc,butit is bestwith differenttypesofrice preparations liketo,nato rice, cumin riceorwith hoppers (appams)and stringhoppers.

INGREDIENTS

10 eggs

3-4tbspvegetableoil

1tbspghee/clarified butter

2-inch cinnamon bark

5green cardamoms

2small red onions (100gm);finely chopped

½tspturmeric powder

2tomatoes (approx1 cup); pureed

Salt.toseason

Wet paste

2tbspvegetableoil

1tbspfennelseeds

¾tbsp cumin seeds

3 green chillies: slit

5medium garlic cloves; coarsely chopped

1-inch pieceginger; coarsely chopped

2tspwhite poppyseeds

1 tbsp roasted Bengalgram; split

10 unsalted cashewnuts

¾ cup gratedcoconut

METHOD chillies. garlic. gingerand poppy seeds. Frylightlyfor30 secondsto a minutetillyou beginto getthe aromaofthespices.

Hard boiltheeggs. shelland slitin half lengthwise. Keep aside. To preparethewetpaste. heatoil in a large kadhai/wok. When medium hot. addthefennelseeds, cumin.

Nextaddthesplit Bengal gram. cashew nutsand coconut:continuetofry on lowto medium heatstirring constantlytillthecoconutstartsto getlightbrown.

Removefrom heatandallowtocool. Grindwith a little bitofwatertoget a paste-likeconsistency.

Heatthe remainingoiland ghee in thesame kadhai/wok and when medium hot. add cinnamon and cardamom.

Whenthecardamomsturn plump.add theonionsandsautetilltranslucent. Then addtheturmericpowderand continuetosauteforanotherminute.

Pourinthetomato puree andthe ground wetpaste; seasonwithsalt and mixwellto combine. Cookon lowheattilltheoil has separated fromthe masala.

Add enough watertogetathickgravy, mixwelland continueto cookfor another2-3 minutes.

Finallyaddtheboiledeggsandturn carefullytocoatwellwiththe masala. Removefrom heatand keepforat least15minutesbeforeserving.

BY PETRA O'NEILL

yadventurebeganassoonas

IboardedCoralExpedition's Coral Discovererfrom Hobart's Sullivan'sCove. Forthenext 11 dayswecruised alongthecoastUJ1e, takinginthesightsandsoundsofsouthern Tas1nania, andlearningaboutthewealth ofitsnaturalhistory.Therearemanyhikes herethatwilltakeyou topristinewilderness areas-thesearejustsomethatyoucando.

Bruny Island

Renowned as aholidaydestination, Bruny Islandcaters to multiple hikingabilities, with many walkingtrackoptions,from undulatingto strenuous.

FromAdventure Bay,wehikedto Green Pointalongatrackthathugsthe coastline,linedwithsedgygrass,yellow banksiasand sheoaks.Afterreaching CairnCove, thetrackbeco1nessteepand slippery, thelandscapen1oredramatic, withwavesswirlingand poundingagainst thesheerdolerite cliffsbelow. Hikingback toAdventure Bay,alongthe FlutedCape walk,thetrackpasses through adenseblue gum forestfilled with birdsong, andifyou areluckyto sightone,ra1·ewhitewallabies.

Cape Hauy

Cape Hauy forn1spartofthespectacular

ThreeCapesTrackthat takesin tall

PaintedCliffs,MariaIsland eucalypts, coastal heath andAustralia's highestseacliffs.Thehike ischallenging withlotsofsteps-I counted 1750ofthem.

Com1nencingatFortescue Bay,the trackiswellconstructed,1nadeofcut stoneandco1npactedgravelthatdipslike arollercoasterbeforesnakingbetween in1posingcliffs,towardsthefa1nousdolerite stacksknowsastheCandlestickandTotem

Pole,whichsoar300metresabovethe oceanbelow,andarerenownedasoneof Australia'smostspectacularsights.

Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour

Tasmania'ssouthwest iswild, rugged and so remote it's accessible onlybysea, private aircharterorbyhikingoverland for several daystogetthere.

Asweentered Bathurst Harbourat sunrise,white belliedseaeaglescircled overhead, and the mountainswereblueish black,witha faint red outline asthesun wasbreakingthrough thenightsky. The shallowwater-stainedbytanninsfrom button grass-wasdarkbrown, resembling stronglybrewed tea.

Aftercruisingalongnarrowwaterways bytenderboat,we arrived at Melaleuca Inlet. 1;erewe followed the Needwonnee interpretivewalkalongside aforestand lagoon, the storiesunfoldingthrough installationsofthe wayoflife ofthe indigenoustribethatoncelived here. Thatafternoon and thenextdaywe muddied ourbootshikingthroughboggy button grass heathland to Mount Beattie and Mount Milnerwithpanoramicviews ofaspectacular, pristine wilderness and myfavouritehikesofthetrip.

Freycinet National Park

Thispanoramiccoastlineisdottedwith whitesandybeaches,turquoisewatersand sitsagainst abackdropofdramaticgranite peaksthat make upthe Hazards range.

From HazardsBay,we followed the n1arshy Isthmus track pasta lagoon, with loudcroakingfrogs topicturesque Wineglass Bay,whichcurveslongaround theclearand calmwater, pinkgranite bouldersand awhitesandy beach.

A well-made butchallengingtrackwith over 500stepsleads from Wineglass Bay through a forestofeucalypts, tea trees and sheoaksand banksiastoWineglass Baylookout. Withthe Hazardsoneither sideofthesaddle,theviewasyoulook across toWineglass Bayisstunning.

On thewaybackdown J stopped to take in thesoundsandsightsoftheforest. Small nectarfeedingbirdsincluding honeyeaters,wattlebirdsandscrubwrens dartedabout,and raucousyellowtailed blackcockatoosflewoverhead. Looking downat myfeet, l alsosawa black tiger snakesunningitselfonthe track.

The nextdaywearrivedontiny Schouten Island, locatedoffthesouthern tip ofthe FreycinetPeninsula. Aswe walkedontothe beach atCrockett's Bay, itwasn'tsand wewere walkingonbut fragmentsofoystershells,given thearea isabundantwithshellfish. We visitedthe remainsofanoldcoalmine, kayaked to explorethebayand hada refreshingswim.

Laterthatday,wecircun,navigatedIle Des Phoques,a small rockyoutcrop,and home to blackcormorantsand afurseal colony.

Maria Island

Maria Island was named in 1642 by AbelTasmanafterthe wife ofthe then Governor-General ofthe Dutch East Indies, Anthonyvan Diemen. Maria island is also known forbeingTasmania's Noah's Ark,hometoan abundanceofwildlife suchas Bennett'swallabies,wombats, Tasmanian devils and isalso rich in geological andconvicthistory.

Aswe made ourway fromthejetty, we passed the Commissariatstorebuilt in 1825,tothe forn1erpenalcolonyof Darlingtondatingback to theconvict era. We thenwalkedover to the nearby Fossil Cliffs the site ofa former limestone quarry that exposes 300 millionyearold fossils embeddedintothe rocks. An easywalk thenledus to the Painted Cliffs, which displaycolourful layersofweathered sandstone.

Our most challenginghikewas the 620m climb tothe top oftwin peaks knownas Bishop andClerk. The track leadsacrossflatopengrasslandand then a forestbeforeopeninguptolarge loose stones to scramble over, asteep switchback and then a final largegranite bouldertoclimb that Icouldn't reach withoutwrigglingupandover. The views from thesummit across the Freycinet Peninsula are breathtaking.

SouthernTasmaniahasso much pristine wilderness toexplore.

STARSTRUCK

1 {ABC iView)

I STARRING: RoseMatafeo, EmmaSidi, Nikesh Patel, Minnie Driver

I DIRECTOR: Karen Maine

I WRITER: Rose Matafeoand

1 AliceSnedden

I Freshfrom its launcheson BBC

I Threeand HBO Maxearlierthisyear, 1 Starstruckputspeopleofcolour (POC) in an unfamiliarspotlight.

I Simultaneouslyplacingthematthe

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I wheretheyaretheactionstars(instead of,say,theactionstar'staxidriver)

I whilstalsogivingthemthe romantic,

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RAY(anthology I series on Netflix) I

STARRING: Manoj Bajpayee,GajrajRao, I Shweta BasuPrasad,Anindita Bose, I AliFazal,KayKay Menon,Bidita Bag, DibyenduBhattacharya,HarshVarrdhan I Kapoor,Radhika Madan, ChandanRoy I Sanyal,Akansha RanjanKapoor

DIRECTOR:AbhishekChaubey, I SrijitMukherji,Vasan Bala I

It'scompulsivelydarkfor mostparts, I oftenstrangelyso,thewaySatyajit I Ray'soeuvrerarelywas.Rayhadaway ofservingthesombrein layers,with I simplisticemotionsoftenactingas I masksfor deepersubtexts. I

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You notea coupleofthings. First, I thesheer universalappealofthe I storiesthatset upthe narratives.The timelessnessofRay's legacybecomes I obviouswatchingthesetales,crafted I for a mediumthatfarfromexisted I in Ray'stime, and interpretedto suitanaudiencewhosedefinitionof I entertainmenthas drasticallyaltered I sincethedecadeswhentheauteur I lived and createdhisart.

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HASEEN DILLRUBA (Netfilx)

STARRING: Taapsee Pannu, VikrantMassey, Harshvardhan Rane, AdityaSrivastava,AshishVerma

DIRECTOR:VinilMathew

Hand ittotheseguysyou'llgetthe pun inthatstatementonceyou've watchedtheoutrageousend-butthis isonewild Bollywoodthriller, mixing suspensewithwryhumour.

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AbhishekChaubeyhelms'Hungama HaiKyonBarpa',thebreeziestamong thefoursegmentsbasedonRay'sshort storyBarin BhowmikerByaram (Barin Bhowmik'sAilment). ManojBajpayee isMusafirAli,a popularghazalsinger whoistravellingfromBhopaltoDelhiby 1 train.Hisco-passenger inhisfirst-class compartmentisBaig(GajrajRao),a I wrestler-turned-sportsjournalist.Asthey I getacquainted, Musafir realises Baigis someoneheknows-fromasimilartrain journey 10yearsago.Aquirkysecret

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I I I I I I I I I