Indian-Inspired Masala Fried Eggs
SCRAPS #43: a flavorful breakfast inspired by the delicious street food in Patna, India
Crispy eggs fried in garam masala and buttery shallots, topped with fresh chillies and cilantro, talk about a breakfast to look forward to! This recipe takes inspiration from the flavorful street food in Patna, India, where I virtually traveled to while mindlessly scrolling through YouTube one evening. I came across this one video and that was all it took to fall down a rabbit hole. I spent the following hour watching dozens of Indian poached-egg-making videos: the sizzling, the pan, the egg-cracking, every single step is a thrill to watch. I needed to try it. Got out of bed and started cooking my second dinner, since I happened to have most of the ingredients on hand. While I’m sure the original is superior to my version — the nonstick on my stovetop probably doesn’t stand a chance to that delicious smokiness from the charcoal plus all the flavor of that pan — it turned out amazing, and it only took me 10 minutes to make. I haven’t stopped making it ever since, it’s that good.
Hope your week is off to a good start, grateful to have you here!
Best,
Carolina
xx
RECIPE
Makes: 1 serving
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Printable recipe here:
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons ghee, butter or neutral oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 small knob of ginger, about 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
2 to 3 eggs
1 small Serrano or jalapeño pepper
A small handful of fresh cilantro
Lime juice, for serving
Kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1
In a small nonstick pan over medium heat, melt the ghee or butter or heat the oil. Add 3/4 of the chopped shallot and all the ginger. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the shallots have visibly softened.
Step 2
Add the garlic, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne and mix with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Season with a small pinch of salt.
Step 3
Reduce the heat to medium low. Crack the eggs in the pan, season with more salt.
Sprinkle the Serrano or jalapeño slices, remaining shallot, and cilantro on top.
Cover with a lid, and cook until the egg whites are opaque, peaking under the lid every now and then to check on the yolks. About 5 minutes will give you a runny yolk, you can cook the eggs more, depending on your yolk preference.
Step 4
Finish off with lime juice on top and serve right away with crispy rice or crusty toast.
We were running out of options for breakfast. So needed this! Thanks! 😋
Carolina - so lovely that you trawled YT to see the various versions. You can improvise this to do add two more different recipes :
1) Post the onions and ginger etc has thawed, add chopped tomatoes with some salt. When they thaw/or mush up, add the masalas. And then add the eggs beaten. And let’s them get cooked like scrambled eggs. Add chopped coriander & green chilly while they are cooking. And add a dash of lime once you put the gas off. This is the Indian version of scrambled eggs called egg bhurji.
2) You could add boiled potato cut in thin roundels to the onions & ginger masala. And then top them up with eggs like you did. Let it cook and then drizzle with some coriander and green chillies. This is the Parsi version of eggs called Papeta par eedu