North Indian Baked Eggs are easy, fast and comforting; it is the kind of dish you turn to when you cannot think of what to make for dinner, and then end up thrilled with your meal! I received a copy of Seven Spoons from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. Affiliate links have been used to link to items I am discussing.
One of the big surprises–for me–in Italy was how mountainous it was. For whatever reason I just had no idea. Calabria especially was covered in mountains, and Rende, our home base, was down in a valley, so any time we left, we drove in mountains. One day, the girls and I decided to go try to find a castle in a nearby town (I no longer remember which castle or town). We never did find the castle, but it was sunny and high 70s (Farenheit) when we left Rende, with a heat index in the high 80s. This was the view driving back down from the town, which of course was somewhere up high:
So the weather was clearly turning. The girls and I decided to see if we could drive up into Sila Grande, one of the mountains in the Calabrian National Park. When we pulled over to get gas, this was the sight behind us on the mountain we had been driving around (pardon the photo quality):
Perhaps because I am not very bright, we decided to drive up Sila Grande anyway! On the way up we drove through hail–complete with piles of ice on the sides of the road!–and rain. And at the top, it was a whopping 49 F–and with wind chill it was about 40 F! So much for exploring the park! The girls got out of the car long enough for me to take the obligatory “we were there” picture (while they clutched each other, shivering) and then we drove back down!
Despite the chill, we had a wonderful time. The scenery was gorgeous, and it was just one more fun memory made possible by renting the car. We decided that even if we did not see any, we were certain that there were Apennine wolves on the mountain with us. We paused on the way down for this shot:
I wish I had some graceful, witty, logical segue into North Indian Baked Eggs but nothing is occurring to me. The recipe is from Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day
Beyond the recipes themselves, the writing and photography are also stellar. Not all recipes have photographs, but at least half do I would venture, and they are lovely–kind of homey and rustic and elegant at the same time. I love the trend of using matte paper instead of shiny paper for cookbooks right now.
I knew as soon as I saw this baked eggs recipe that I would be making it. It was absolutely perfect for our first few days home from Italy, when all I had managed to buy were a few dozen eggs, yogurt, cilantro and onions (we still had garlic and I had John pick up some local greenhouse tomatoes from the farmers’ market across the way). And I didn’t feel like thinking or creating any grand meals. It was homey and comforting, and the kinds of flavors we were all dying for. Except John and the eggs. He is not an egg fan. Much to the distress of the rest of us. We try not to inflict them on him too often! He gets the more cooked-through yolks while the rest of us all want gloriously oozing yolks.
- 2 T ghee
- 3 large onions, chopped
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch bunch of cilantro, tender stems finely chopped and separated and leaves coarsely chopped
- 1/2 t ground turmeric
- 1/4 t paprika (or cayenne if you can take the heat)
- 1 t ground cumin
- 1 1/2 t ground coriander
- 2 t garam masala, plus some to sprinkle
- 4 lbs tomatoes, either fresh in summer or frozen off-season, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, whole fat or 2%
- 4-8 eggs, depending on appetites (I always ask how many each person wants)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cooked Basmati rice for serving, optional
- lime or lemon wedges
- chopped nuts of choice (almonds or cashews would be nice I think)
- chopped fresh dill
- baby greens (I would love to try arugula)
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Using a large, heavy, oven-proof skillet (I think enameled cast iron is perfect here), heat the ghee over medium heat. When it is melted and shimmering, add the onions with a pinch of salt.
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While they cook, preheat the oven to 375 F.
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Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are caramelizing, about 10-15 minutes. You can add a splash of water if they start to scorch or stick. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring.
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Add the finely chopped tender cilantro stems with another pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.
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Add the turmeric and paprika and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Then add the cumin, coriander and garam masala and stir, cooking, for another 30 seconds.
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Add the tomatoes with all of their juices, as well as a pinch of salt and the bay leaves. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, and when it does boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally, being certain to scrape at the bottom of the pan.
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The tomatoes will reduce and thicken, and become more of a sauce. The oil will rise to the top of the sauce, kind of splitting from the sauce (it might look broken, but that is what you want).
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Dollop the yogurt into the sauce in several spoonfuls. Then lightly marble the yogurt into the tomatoes (this is O'Brady's technique and I thought it was brilliant).
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Use the wooden end of a spoon to create "holes" and crack each egg into a hole. Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper, to taste.
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Bake in the oven to your preferred doneness; O'Brady recommends 12 minutes for oozing yolks but set whites.
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Sprinkle very lightly (the barest pinch) with garam masala when it comes out of the oven, and a handful of the chopped cilantro leaves. We enjoyed it with Basmati rice; if I had had any of them on hand, I am sure the garnishes listed above would also be delicious.
And for the collage fans for Pinterest:
I bought this before we left for Italy also and haven’t had a chance to cook from it yet! Though everythign in there makes me drool..especially these eggs!
Haha, at least you got your picture to prove you were there! The girls look like they had a good heart about the situation 🙂 I cannot wait to make this dish! It looks so bright, and delicious, and just amazing!
That sounds like such a fabulous cookbook and I’m curious on what 7 spoons means? The recipe looks unreal – I love baked eggs like this!
i think she more or less said she liked the number and she liked spoons. It was something rather whimsical at any rate.
Well that’s an interesting way to pick a title 🙂
LOL
this sounds like the perfect eggs for dinner recipe! perfect for meatless monday
What a fabulous time you had with your precious girls, Laura. Such great photos. And what a lovely dish too. I’ve picked up this book a few times in shops and Powell’s Books and thumbed through it. Now I’ll buy it for sure. 🙂
I want this book. Oh, look at that, before I finished the comment, It was in my amazon cart. 🙂
Now, your pictures are stunning. I recently made a shakshouska and know without a doubt I would love this dish, as would my daughter. Pinning.
This is a regular dish at my home. My daughter can eat this any number of times. I love the photos !
The baked eggs are a great go to breakfast. The accompanying chutneys are also fabulous.
And your comments about her photography are spot on: such excellent and genuine photos.
I appreciate you shared it. This dish is not north indian dish. It is highly misleading. This dish every time, i cook for my indian friends that i have a lot of them, they like it and are surprised by this dish. but it is not indian egg style. They eat egg bhurji and other styles. Search shakshuka and other middle eastern egg recipes so get more i fo.
Hi Luc:
Actually Northern Indian food has a lot in common with various areas of the Middle East, both having been strongly influenced by Persian and Mughal cooking, and this dish is indeed similar to Shakshuka, although I have never seen Shakshuka with these spices. If your Indian friends were unfamiliar with the dish it could be because they were from other areas of India or their families just did not make it. As you may notice, I am reviewing a cookbook written by a cook of Indian descent and she calls them North Indian style.
wonderful recipe
Question: If I add the cumin seeds to the ghee (as noted in title caption), do I still use the ground cumin later in the recipe?
Yes! They add 2 differently nuanced cumin flavors.
Hi just curious…what does marbling mean?
Marbling means to take some sort of flat and straight utensil, like a butter knife or a spatula, depending on what you are marbling, and to stick it straight into the sauce and then move it through the pan in a wavy pattern while still keeping the utensil upright and straight. Marbling is a common technique when, for example, swirling a cream cheese batter through brownie batter, so that each batter remains distinct and yet part of a common whole. Let me know if that did not make sense. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog, and your choice of the best North Indian food is praiseworthy. Your in-depth understanding of these culinary delights is truly remarkable. Whether you’ve personally tasted them or not, your work is commendable. Great job!
I promise I have tasted all of them! And thank you so much!