Saturday, February 16, 2008

Eggs In The Morning

It’s been a long day and I can’t think of any witty/anecdotal intro for this piece, other than recall this about how a woman, when confronted with a leering male who asks her how she likes her eggs, should retort, “Unfertilised.”

Moving away from double entendres, I like mine scrambled, and I’ve a recipe for quick, scrambled eggs that are ready in under seven minutes from scratch – you don’t have to assemble anything beforehand and I read on the Net that this particular method contains less than 100 calories. I’ve often made it this way so I’m thrilled to know I’ve been doing something right. Paired with fruit such as watermelon or papaya which are light, it makes the perfect light breakfast or lunch.



My idiosyncratic contribution to this is a handful of curry leaves. And curry leaves have become dearer to me all the more after I started blogging and it was reinforced to me how it’s a real treasure to many of us who live away from India. I’ve also finally found the best way so far to store curry leaves – a discovery to ME, anyhow – and that is to store them on their stems in an airtight container in the fridge. They remain good for about a week and serviceable for another.

There’s very little that you need for this dish:

Whole egg yolk – 1
Egg whites – 2
A pinch of salt
Green chilli – 1
Curry leaves – 2-3 sprigs or just as many as you want
Oil – ½ tsp

Beat the whole egg yolk and whites together with the salt. Not too long, just so that the yolks get mixed up.

Snip the green chilli with scissors into the mixture (time-saving measure), mix.

Place a pan on the fire, put in the oil and swirl as much as you can. Do all this on low heat.

Once the oil’s hot, add the curry leaves and sauté.

Add the eggs. In less than a minute, you will notice them beginning to solidify at the bottom; now, turn the mixture with a spoon back and forth till it becomes softly solid.

Just as the wetness of the yolks threatens to disappear, switch off the fire and let it rest for a few seconds. Then scoop it on to a plate, enjoy!

Here are some links to various facts and recipes for scrambled eggs. Bon appetit!

If you don't mind the heat, it's nice to bite into bits of chilli filled with egg, but otherwise, here's a milder variation.

Find out what you can do with the leftover yellows from the eggs.

This gives you the recipe for the James Bond version of scrambled eggs, and this tells you of the myriad ways in which they can be enhanced.

This recipe goes to Suganya of Tasty Palettes who is hosting Weekend Breakfast Blogging started by Nandita of Saffron Trail.

Please keep those entries coming for AFAM-Pomegranate. The deadline's less than 10 days away!

15 comments:

  1. I make the softest scrambled US style eggs ever! I made one for Bindiya, Chinese style, will post.
    Never made Indian way though, looks good, must try with chillies and curry leaves. Enjoy the weekend sra!:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scrambled eggs are always a welcome breakfast in our house! I often add a little turmeric when I do it this way for color! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Curry leaves in egg scrambles? I gotta try that. For a creamier scramble, make use of a double boiler. Indirect slow heat makes it into a custard-scramble. Scoop it with a crusty bread. Thanks for the entry, Sra.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL. Great comeback. Have you tried freezing curry leaves? They keep for up to six months and hardly lose their flavour...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love scrambled eggs a lot....Nice picture... so mouthwatering...

    ReplyDelete
  6. We generally have omlettes or fritattas on weekend, when its eggs day. The photo looks good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. wow!!! excellent breakfast ....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Only 7 minutes, huh? I take around 9. ;-) You see, I also need to take the frozen coconut out of the fridge, thaw it and add it at the end of the cooking process. That's what I do- make an egg (motta)thoran. I guess it's the Keralite in me. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. ehmm..I was thinking whats she eating just scrambled eggs for lunch..gosh we are following even for the events...great..nice to know that twist!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Asha, will look out for your post. I think I'm sold on the chillies - today, I tried the eggs with salt and pepper and a little sage for kicks but it seemed v bland to me!
    Kalai, yes, that would make it more colorful and less eggy too, I guess.
    Suganya, will try that, certainly.
    Mallika, no, I never knew that.
    Sukanya, thank you.
    Vimmi, thank you. Do you mean veggies in eggs when you say frittatas - I've never been able to develop a liking for those, somehow.
    Deepa, thanks.
    TBC, but you aren't kidding are you? Is it your twist or traditional?
    Valli, not just for events, even when you're on a diet ;) I truly have this for lunch.b.fast everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have heard of this method, of using more egg whites and less yolks, but I am just too lazy... Scrambled eggs are normally the quick fix dish, and I have no patience in seperating the yellow... :( May be one day.... Love your curry leaves, green chilli addtions... goes well in anything... :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. eggs with curry leaves yummmmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  13. they looks so nice :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love scrambled eggs. Like you said they are easy and filling.
    I never get fresh curry leaves here. So when my huuby goes to London he brings back loads of curry leaves and i freeze them in bags. I know it is not same as fresh one. But i still think they are pretty good from the freezer.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sig, I agree, separating takes extra time but I just chip off a bit of shell with a small knife and wait for the white to fall out.
    Sagari, do try it!
    Raaga, thank you, I thought so too :)
    Happy Cook, yes, that's what Mallika said.

    ReplyDelete

I moderate all my comments. So if you're a human spammer or a bot that can understand this warning, buzz off, don't waste your time here spamming.