Dimer Devil | Bengali Deviled Eggs

Chops or cutlets are an integral part of the Bengali’s food culture, as is evident when a Bengali lists his/her ‘favourite snacks’ or ‘popular street foods’. Every one of us has his/her favourite bhaaja (batter fried) that we want with our lunch of dal-bhaat (lentil soup-rice) or the evening chai.

The classic street food, a generous appetiser, the perfect accompaniment to the evening drink, a chop is destined to lift your spirits with the crunch of the deep-fried golden brown cover and the perfectly seasoned (and cooked) filling. Satisfaction guaranteed.

There have been times when, as children, the elder sister and I have gazed with longing at that last chop as Maa urged it on a guest. Especially when the chop was the ‘dimer devil’, yet another egg dish that my mother puts together in her kitchen without batting an eyelid!

One of the most popular street foods available in Kolkata, the ‘dimer devil’ literally translates into ‘the egg’s devil’. One can only assume that it is the spicier and Bengali-sed version of the devilled eggs. This version of the devilled eggs sees the hard-boiled halves coated in a mixture of potato, cottage cheese or meat. The coated egg is then dipped in a batter of whipped eggs or gram flour, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried till golden brown. Or in my case, dark brown and a bit charred.

I’ve only ever had the ones that Maa makes so whilst she was teaching me the dos-and-don’ts of the recipe, I asked where she sampled a dimer devil first.

“At a book fair in Kolkata that I attended with friends when we were all in our final year of graduation,” she said. “I still remember we were intrigued when the food stall owner said he was selling dimer devil. That first bite was when I fell in love,” said Maa, who even learned the basics of the recipe from that stall owner.

While she does not remember when she first made it, I remember that the dimer devil is a must-make dish for guests who pop in to greet the parents in the post-Durga Puja period. And with puja festivities beginning this weekend, this is the perfect time to learn how to make a dimer devil.

Oh wait! There is a second reason for making an egg dish today.

Happy WORLD EGG DAY my fellow egg lovers!!!

I hope you have an egg-citing October 12, the day celebrated to increase the awareness of eggs and their nutritional importance. You can check out other egg recipes on the blog – the Azeri kyukyu-inspired omelette and the Omelette in a Spicy Curry.

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