Shatkora Dim is a Sylheti egg curry — hard-boiled eggs simmered with shatkora (a bitter citrus unique to Sylhet), onion, and spices. The shatkora rind infuses the curry with its complex bitter-tart flavor, creating a unique egg dish found nowhere else. It is the vegetarian alternative to Shatkora Mangsho (beef, already in the database) in Sylheti homes.
Shatkora Dim (egg curry with shatkora) is a Sylheti home dish — the vegetarian alternative to Shatkora Mangsho (beef with shatkora, already in the database). It uses the same bitter citrus (Citrus macroptera, unique to Sylhet) but with hard-boiled eggs instead of beef. The shatkora rind is simmered with the eggs, onion, and a simple spice base, creating a curry that is bitter, tart, and deeply aromatic. It is the food of Sylheti everyday cooking — simpler and faster than the beef version, but with the same distinctive shatkora character.
Halved hard-boiled eggs in a golden, slightly bitter gravy with soft pieces of shatkora rind. The egg yolk absorbs the bitter-tart flavors; the white stays firm. The shatkora bitterness is complex — not harsh, but lingering, making you want another bite. Eat it with rice.
The eggs are hard-boiled first, then halved and added to the simmering curry. The shatkora rind is sliced thin and simmered with the onion-spice base for 15+ minutes to release its bitter oils. Mustard oil is traditional. The eggs absorb flavor through the cut surfaces, so they should be added cut-side down.
Variations
Some use duck eggs; some add potatoes; some use more or less shatkora; the spice level varies.
On the Palate
Where Shatkora Dim sits in the Bangladeshi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
9 steps · 20 min active + 10 min waiting
- 115 min
Hard-boil 6 eggs; peel; halve lengthwise.
- 23 min
Slice the rind of 1 shatkora fruit into thin strips (about 80 g).
- 35 min
Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil; add 1 sliced onion; cook 5 minutes.
- 42 min
Add 1 tbsp garlic paste, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili powder.
- 53 min
Add the shatkora rind; cook 3 minutes.
Watch outSimmer the sliced shatkora rind in the spice base a good while to release its bitter oils — that clean bitter edge is the whole point of the dish.
- 610 min
Add 200 ml water; simmer 10 minutes.
- 75 min
Add the egg halves cut-side down; simmer 5 minutes.
Watch outLay the egg halves cut-side down so the yolks soak up gravy through the cut face — set them yolk-up and they stay bland.
- 81 min
The gravy should be thick and the shatkora soft.
- 91 min
Serve with rice.
