This is a bit of a tradition to start with this dish every time I start a new website. But why Shakshuka? It’s a breakfast dish, signifies a good start. It is eggs poached in a spicy and savoury tomato sauce. If you didn’t know, Tomatoes are just bombs filled with UMAMI. And umami is the gift that keeps on giving. You don’t need a reason to try a Shakshuka other than the fact that it’s Sunday, you have 30 mins to make breakfast and you are starting a new blog.
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion (fits or exceeds your palm)/sliced
- 2 large tomatoes
- 3-4 garlic cloves (fine chopped)
- 2 green chilies (fine chopped)
- 1 tsp of cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste/tomato ketchup (optional: but it helps)
- Oil (Anything you have)
- A pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 tsp of cumin powder
- 4 nos eggs
- A pinch of paprika/chilli powder
- Salt & pepper as per taste
- Chopped coriander for garnish
Procedure
- Take a frying pan (24cm) and add some oil. How much? Till you inner voice says it’s fine (2 tbsp).
- Add cumin seeds till they splutter and probably hit you on the hand.
- Add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt (&pepper) and cook till they become translucent and soft. (Salt helps to cook faster)
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Then, cumin powder and chilli flakes.
- Saute for 30 more seconds (add a bit of water if the spices feel like burning)
- Add the tomato paste/ketchup and cook until everything comes together.
- Add some water to form a ‘sauce’. Add in the chopped tomatoes.
- Cook until the raw taste of tomatoes is gone. Reduce the flame. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency of the sauce to be a little thin by adding water and reducing, when divets are made using eggs, the sauce should hold its form.
- Make 4 divets in the sauce using the eggs, and crack them gently without distubing the yolk.
- Sprinkle the yolks with salt and with pepper/paprika/chilli powder.
- Cover the pan and cook till the yolks are done. (Soft = 4 mins/Med = 6 mins/Hard = 8 mins)
- Garnish with chopped coriander and chilli flakes. Serve with toasted bread.