Indian Eggs
Introduction
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.
Ingredients
- 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
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.