- scant ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- A pinch of caraway seeds
- 4 teaspoons ghee (or olive oil)
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 small shallot, minced
- half a jalapeño, seeds discarded, minced
- 2 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
- 5-6 sprigs cilantro, leaves picked and stems minced
- ½ cup tiny tomatoes, halved, or half of larger tomato, chopped
- Sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1 pinch chile flakes
- 2-3 curry leaves (optional)
- 4 large eggs
- Black pepper
Indian Eggs
Makes 2 Servings
Some mornings call for simple, homey comfort food. Others, a crazy Bollywood party in your mouth. On those mornings (or any time you want to wow someone with breakfast, really), these eggs should be your go-to. They’re wildly delicious — jam-packed with just the right riot of flavors. We love serving them with a simple salad of soft lettuces/lemon/olive oil, garlic toast and a scoop of salted yogurt on the side.
Share
Instructions
In a small pan over medium heat, toast the cumin and caraway seeds until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar, let cool, and grind.
Plop 3 teaspoons of ghee into a sauté pan over medium-high heat (for eggs, we prefer nonstick); once melted, add the garlic, shallot, jalapeño, white part of the scallions, cilantro stems and tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, and let sizzle, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to blister. Add all the spices, ground and whole, the green part of the scallions and the curry leaves. Sauté for two minutes or so, stirring regularly, until everything is nicely melding together and smelling delicious. Crack the eggs into a bowl, season with lots of black pepper and a pinch of salt, and whisk or stir with a fork until thoroughly well beaten (aka evenly yellow in color).
Turn the heat down to medium-low, push everything in the pan to one side, and add one last teaspoon of ghee to the pan. When melted, pour in the eggs. Let them sit undisturbed for a few seconds and then start gently stirring them, every 10 seconds or so, to create a soft scramble. You want silky, soft, just-cooked eggs here. When things are starting to firm up, and the eggs look about 30 seconds from being done, add the cilantro leaves and stir. Gently fold the rest of the ingredients, which have been waiting patiently on the side of the pan, into the eggs and turn out onto a plate. Garnish with a few more cilantro leaves.
