Bake-a-Mania: Scotch Eggs

Boiled eggs (my favorite)encased in a herb flavored sausage meat, then breaded and fried to a golden perfection and the result - a mouthwatering, scrumptiously, yummy dish !!!
My husband has been requesting me for donkeys years (married for almost 19 years does indeed seem like donkeys years ) to have a go at making these scotch eggs. They actually remind him of his NDA days in Khadakvasla, Pune where normally all the cadets would eagerly wait for the "Dinner Nights" when continental food would be served. ( I am sure as a young 16 year old cadet, one is so famished at all times that anything and everything handed to you on a plate tastes out of this world). I am not certain if he remembers after all these years what the dish actually tasted like. Sometimes, I feel what we store in our memories, things and events, seem much more beautiful than they are in reality or maybe our notion of what we perceive as beautiful when we were younger changes with time as we grow older. So many times, it happens that when you revisit that memory, however beautiful it might have seemed in the past, it just doesn't hold its old charm and seems faded in comparison. (Though of course, hubby dear was quite elated at his wish being fulfilled at last and was all praises for the scotch eggs - a surefire way of ensuring I make them soon again )
Back to my "Scotch eggs", despite popular belief, Scotch eggs are not actually Scottish. An article in "The Historic Food Blog" interestingly puts up a theory that their origin begins much earlier in India. They evolved from an Indian dish called Nargisi Kofta, (a dish from the Mughlai cuisine, which is even now, quite popular in North India), made by wrapping hard-boiled eggs in minced lamb and cooking them in a deliciously creamy onion and tomato gravy. The Daily Mail supported the claim that British soldiers found them tasty and upon returning home to England had the eggs made for their families. So kudos to us Indians for coming up with such a brilliant dish.

While making this dish, I have again taken the easy but a much preferred way out. Instead of buying fresh mince and going through the whole rigmarole, I simply picked up some sausages to use them for the outer covering as I love the fact that the sausages are pre-seasoned. But if you like just go ahead and experiment, you can use minced chicken, lamb, turkey, beef - this is totally up to your preference. Just remember to coat the meat mixture evenly to form a nice shell around the egg. Don’t add too little or too much covering of meat. It should be a thin layer around the egg.
Ingredients
5 medium eggs
250 gms sausages, minced
1 beaten egg
100 g breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Method
Hard boil the eggs by placing them in cold water, bring the water to a boil and then simmer the eggs for 5 minutes. Then pop them in cold water to cool them. Once cool, gently peel the eggs.

Finely mince the sausages. Sausage meat is usually seasoned and needs no additional flavoring but if you are using any other meat, be sure to season it well. Add 1 egg to the minced sausage meat if the mixture is too dry, otherwise it will not mould properly around the eggs.

Take a handful of the mince and flatten it in your hand. Cover the egg completely with a thin layer of the mixture. Dip the covered egg into the beaten egg and then roll into the breadcrumbs till fully covered.

Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a large saucepan till really hot. Fry the scotch egg for 8-10 minutes, turning them till they are nicely browned on all sides. I prefer to shallow fry my eggs, but if you feel like being a little indulgent, just go ahead and deep-fry the eggs.