Sunny side up: Eggs on the platter

As an avid egg lover, I have a soft corner for Easter. Not because I am religious — I am not — but because of a delicious imagery that is connected with the festival: decorated and gaily coloured hard-boiled eggs. On the day of the festival, I think we must celebrate the role that eggs play in our lives and recall the many forms that they take. I like my double-fried eggs and omelette, and enjoy an occasional hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper. Egg curry — cooked in Kerala style, with a lot of onions, tamarind and pepper, or in a light gravy with boiled potatoes — is often our dinner. And there was a time when I couldn’t have enough of an omelette curry: an omelette cut into squares and cooked in a thick sauce.But these are the basic egg preparations. Almost every culture has its own signature egg dish, ranging from the simple to the exceptional. For the past few days, I have been gorging on appam and mutta roast at a humble club I am a member of. Assam’s konir dom and Bengal’s dimer dalna are simple variations of boiled eggs in a curry. Then there is the Parsi dish akoori — spicy scrambled eggs — which comes in all forms, with variations ranging from the addition of fried potatoes, ginger, arhar dal and spring onions to almonds, raisins and cashew nuts. There is even a hard-boiled egg akoori.Eggs, as we all know, are a great source of nutrients, rich in vitamins and minerals. There was a time when eggs were seen as a health risk, but increasingly they are being held up as an ideal and easy source of protein. According to a 2025 report in the journal Nutrients, new research says that relatively older adults who eat 1-6 eggs a week have a 29 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death. Evidence that one egg a day is safe for most people is based on a body of studies, many conducted at Harvard Medical School. Steel man Russi Modi knew that well before the studies became public. Legend has it that he used to consume a 16-egg omelette every day. I may not go that far, but I can never say no to a fluffy omelette, with a bit of ketchup on the side.Among the other mouth-watering egg dishes is the shakshuka, a North African dish that is eaten across the region and in the Mediterranean, and is now quite a popular breakfast order in India. And the many cafes that have mushroomed in the metros serve a Turkish dish called çilbir — poached eggs served on a bed of garlic and dill-flavoured Greek yoghurt. And how can we forget China’s marbled eggs, as tasty as they are good to look at?For this, you boil eggs and crack the shells but don’t peel them. Now, with the cracked shell, you let the eggs cook in a pot of water that has a tea bag, some soya sauce, star anise, cinnamon, pepper corn, and an orange peel. Take the eggs out after 1-2 hours, and then peel them. The eggs will emerge with a beautiful pattern. Another remarkable dish from China is the 100-year-old egg, also called Century egg, alkalised and preserved.I guess it’s the season, but I find myself being flooded with some funny and some cringeworthy puns about eggs. The one that caught my fancy said: “Egg main or egg tu, dono miley Easter-ya”. You may laugh or wince, but you may have to ‘crack’ a smile.ShakshukaIngredientsEggs 6Vegetable oil For cookingOnion (chopped) 1 largeGreen pepper (chopped) 1 largeTomatoes (chopped) 6Garlic cloves, minced 4Coriander powder 1 tspCumin powder ½ tspRed chilli powder 1/4 tspPepper 1/4 tspCoriander leaves 1 tbspMint leaves 1 tbspSalt To tasteSweet paprika, if available 1 tspMethodTake 6 small bowls. Gently crack an egg into each one of them. Heat oil in a large flat-bottomed frying pan. Add the onions, garlic and green pepper. Add the spices and season with salt and pepper.When the onions are soft, add the tomatoes, then sweet paprika, if available. Cook the tomatoes on low heat. When the tomatoes are cooked, make 6 dents. Into each dent, slide in an egg from the bowls, one at a time. By putting the eggs in separate bowls, you ensure that if there is a rotten egg, you don’t spoil all the ingredients by putting it directly into the pan. Cover.When the egg whites are set, the dish is done. Garnish with mint, coriander leaves. Serve with crusty bread & extra virgin olive oil in a bowl on the side.— The writer is a food critic

Sunny side up: Eggs on the platter

One of the most versatile foods, eggs offer a world of flavour, memory, and comfort in every bite

Rahul Verma

Sunny side up: Eggs on the platter

One of the most versatile foods, eggs offer a world of flavour, memory, and comfort in every bite

Rahul Verma

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