Scrambled Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce | Scrambled Eggs in Tomato Chutney
Mostly sour, somewhat spicy, lightly sweet, and quite creamy: scrambled eggs in spicy tomato sauce has been my absolute favourite breakfast since I was little. Given its gloriousness, I don’t know why it took this long for it to wind up here. I’ve been making it every now and then, you see. We tend to overlook our most comforting and go-to recipes sometimes, don’t we? That’s what I did, looks like. Every time I eat scrambled eggs in spicy tomato sauce, I’m taken back to a simpler childhood, when this dish served up with chappatis and love was a finger-licking energiser for a hungry and tired child. It’s the simple regular things that are usually the most evocative, right? Anyway, I ate it with everything: dosais, finger millet wheat dosas, idlis, chappattis, bread, and appams, and always asked for more. In fact, there have been quite a few occasions when I’ve eaten it as is, savouring all of it’s glorious goodness.
We South Indians love our chutneys much like the Italians love their sauces. And you know what, the sauces that are prevalent in the European and Mediterranean regions are much like the chutneys and the gravies found here. Take the tomato chutney for example: it is but a tomato sauce à la Indian. The tomatoes are either raw, or slightly cooked, or cooked for a while, depending on the region you’re in, and the other ingredients and the methods are almost the same: you heat oil, you sweat the onions till they caramelise and then you add juicy tomatoes and cook them until the whole thing comes together. And depending on where you’re from, you can season it with pepper or chilly powder, salt, and herbs. It’s the same thing, really. I’d call scrambled eggs in tomato chutney an Indian version of sorts of shakshukla. I’m pretty sure that with eggs, tomatoes, and onions being universal, this dish must have various versions.
Anyway, don’t be fooled by the somewhat longish name: scrambled eggs in spicy tomato sauce, also called scrambled eggs in tomato chutney, or be intimidated by the words ‘chutney’ and ‘sauce’ — this dish is deceptively simple. Made with just 8 ingredients (as the ninth ingredient is optional), it does not require anything fancy — just whatever you already have at home. So, go on, get started on the path to breakfast (or dinner) heaven!
Oh, and don’t forget to let me know when you make it, okay? Use the hashtag #notjustspice or post it to Facebook @notjustspice or just leave a comment here.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Over a medium flame, place a skillet or kadai or wok (don’t use cast iron since the acid in the tomato is strong enough to react with the metal — unless of course it is well seasoned), and add the 2 tablespoons of oil.
- 2Chop the onion while the oil heats. If you can, chop up 1 or 2 tomatoes too.
- 3When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter.
- 4Right after they do so, add the onions and sauté.
- 5Chop up the tomatoes in between regular stirring of the tomatoes.
- 6When the onions turn light pink and are on the verge of turning golden, add the curry leaves.
- 7After 10 seconds, add the turmeric and the red chilli powders. Mix them in. If they start sticking to the pan, add a teaspoon of water and mix to ease it.
- 8After 20 seconds, add the chopped tomatoes.
- 9Mix it about; do not cover. After 10 minutes they should be slightly bruised, but not fully cooked — more than half-cooked. They should also hold their own water; do not add water to the tomatoes.
- 10Add the salt and mix.
- 11Then break the eggs over the boiling tomatoes and mix it about.
- 12In a few minutes minutes turn off the heat. The eggs will continue to cook so don’t worry if they look uncooked — you don’t want the eggs to dry out.
- 13Cover with a lid and let it sit for 5 minutes before you stir it well.
- 14Serving: serve hot or warm with dosais, appams or any flatbread or warm crusty bread.