Egg Shakshuka - Indian style

If you were a 90s kid and watched the only channel available on tv back then in India called Doordarshan, then you would have surely seen the Egg Ads. Which had quite a catchy jingle that still rings in my ears - "Sunday ho ya Monday..roz khao andey" :)

Eggs - a quintessential item in baking, ice creams, ramen soups, breakfast dishes and so much more. From hard boiled to sunny side up, scrambled to poached. There are so many ways in which one can cook this versatile ingredient. The first time I had a shakshuka like dish was in Bangalore's famous brekkie joint - Hole in the wall. Unlike the traditional shakshuka, this one was loaded with bell peppers, diced onions, sausages and slathered on its top were baked eggs. Way too oily for my liking, but scooping all of it with some fresh bread made it delicious & lovely. I realised it had such simple seasoning - merely salt and pepper, if I am right.

Shakshuka is a classic middle eastern dish that is tasty , economical with respect to the ingredients that you use and serves to be a hearty meal by itself. Now the main ingredient in an authentic shakshuka recipe our tomatoes - pureed ones. Its kind of this thick sauce, with cumin powder and 4 - 6 whole eggs just dropped in to it to retain their shape. Well, this recipe here isn't the traditional recipe though.

Although it does contain tomatoes, tomato puree - I have added bell peppers, diced onions, mushrooms, tossed in Indian spices. All covered up in a blanket of cheddar cheese and then whole eggs seasoned with oregano , red jalapeños plus the usual salt & pepper.

Take a nice big spoonful of this Shakshuka and slather it over freshly baked bread & butter. I am sure you will go in for a second helping :) After all who can say no to a combination of cheese, well seasoned eggs and that medley of textures coming from those saucy veggies ?

INGREDIENTS :

2 Whole eggs

4 tbsp - Olive oil

1/2 onion - sliced

2 baby corns, sliced

1 bell pepper - diced

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

5 tbsp - Tomato puree

1/2 cup - button mushrooms

1/2 tbsp - Red Chilli powder

1/2 tsp - Cumin powder

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp - Garam masala

1 tsp - crushed black peppercorn

A pinch of oregano

1/2 tsp - Garlic cloves, crushed

1 cube of Cheddar cheese, grated

Red Jalapeños for garnish

Salt to taste

PROCEDURE

1. Heat oil in a skillet pan, add onions and saute them until they're translucent.

2. Add the baby corn and chopped tomato next. Cook till the tomatoes turn mushy, this should take about 5mins or so on a medium high flame.

3. For the next step, add dry spice powders (excluding black pepper & oregano), tomato puree, mushrooms, bell peppers and salt as per taste.

4. Cook till the veggies are half done, turn off the flame and remove it from the gas burner. Add the grated cheese and whole eggs. Garnish with a pinch of salt, oregano, black pepper and jalapeños. Do not stir, else the eggs will lose their shapes and will look scrambled.

5. Let this bake in for 5 mins @ 180C in an oven. Or you can cook with a closed lid on a low flame , until the eggs are done basis your liking.

Serve hot with bread of your choice, some coffee and fresh fruits.

Do try this easy breakfast recipe and let me know how it turned out for you :)

Bon apetite!!

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**This website and its content are under the copyright of Jyothi Varne (Author) for Flavor Flame Fusion (2017) All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of the site is strictly prohibited. Any content used needs to be done only after seeking permission of the Author with due Credits.