Eggs in Caramelized Onions & Tomatoes

If there is a food that I could literally live on for breakfast, lunch and dinner it would have to be eggs. A cinnamon french toast for the morning, a simple & quick curry such as this for the lazy afternoon and a light omelette wrapped in a chapathi for dinner would be quite ideal. Yes, it would be an egg overdose but seriously if cholesterol was just imaginary I would totally do it.

Quite often, the food we cook is inspired from the recipes that are passed on from generation-to-generation, from the people we meet and the places we visit. This curry is one such recipe. During my graduation years, me and my roommates would take turns to cook. With all the classes to attend, the project deadlines to reach and the overload of assignments to finish, time was often scarce and having a delicious yet easy recipe such as this in our repertoire was key. One of my roommates often prepared this curry and we loved it. It is nothing complicated but the way the eggs are cooked in the tomato & onion base was my favorite. Flash forward, now it is almost a staple in our home.

The flavor base for this curry starts with onions that are slowly sauteed with some whole garam-masala. Unlike, in other curries…here I let the onions cook a little longer until it almost starts to caramelize. A few spices later, the tomatoes are added and cooked well. The caramelized onions and tomatoes give a nice hint of sweetness. Once the onions and tomatoes are cooked, the eggs are cracked open into little pockets in the pan. Cover and cook the eggs on low-medium for at-least 6 to 8 mins. The eggs are a little crispy at the bottom resembling an omelette or a fried egg, the yolk and the top resembles a hard boiled egg. All these different textures in one curry make this dish pretty versatile and delectable.

Although this dish is similar to other egg dishes like egg bhurji and shakshouka it holds its own against them. Serve with chapathis or rice or sandwich it between some toasty bread for a comforting meal.

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 25 mins

Recipe

Ingredients:

– eggs – 6 or 8
– red onions – 2 medium-sized or 1 large
– tomatoes – 1 large or 2 small

– few tsps oil
– 1 cinnamon stick
– 2 or 3 cardamom pods – split open
– 3 or 4 cloves
– 1n1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
– 1/2 tsp turmeric
– 1n1/2 tsp red chilli powder
– 1/2 tsp coriander powder
– 1/2 tsp cumin powder
– salt to taste
– coriander leaves – roughly chopped

Directions:

1. In a pan, heat about 3 tsps of oil. Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves. When they splutter around add chopped onions. Add a pinch of salt and saute the onions for around 5 to 6 mins. The onions should almost begin to caramelize.
2. Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander, cumin and salt. Add finely diced tomatoes and saute for a few minutes until the tomatoes are cooked.
3. Make little pockets in the onion-tomato mixture and carefully break eggs into them. Reduce the stove to low-medium. Cover with a lid and let the eggs cook through for 6 to 8 mins.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.