Spiced Tomato Sauce Omelette in the Pakistani Manner

Tomato Sauce Omelette (1 of 1)-2

Hello, lovely readers. Apologies for the silence…as many of you know, I have been bedridden for the past two weeks; first with the full-blown influenza and then with pneumonia. I am on the mend now and elated to be back in the kitchen.

I hope all of you in the colder parts of the world have been keeping warm. In our home, we have been having lots of soups, stews, poached eggs, grilled vegetables and rice. And I have been reading a lot. Can’t put this one down.

This weekend, after aeons, I made almost-three dozen crêpes and a spiced omelette for my family. It was a milestone for me, because Turkish Delight, who is almost eighteen months old, actually ate this spicy dish; previously he simply could not abide any form chili. Huge moment of joy for this mum.

I realise that this dish requires some prep work, especially with regards the tomato sauce, but believe me, it is worth that extra effort. Think of this as a custard-like omelette with a bit of spiced curry in it – and mop it up with your favourite bread. We had it with Persian lavash, since that is my son’s favourite these days.

Tomato Sauce Omelette (1 of 1)

Serves 2 adults and one baby
You will need a small saucepan with a lid and a non-stick frying pan which is 30cm/12in.
I used my trusted cast iron pan.

Ingredients:
For the spiced tomato sauce
1 tbsp neutral oil (I use grape seed)
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp haldi, (turmeric powder)
½ tsp zeera powder, (cumin powder)
2 medium tomatoes, skin removed (by blanching – here’s a “how-to” post) and minced
pinch red chili flakes
pinch sea salt

For the omelette
2-3 tbsps neutral oil (I use grape seed)
5 eggs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp dhania powder, (coriander seed powder)
¼ tsp haldi, (turmeric powder)
½ tsp red chili flakes
1+1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves and stems

Preparation:
For the tomato sauce
*Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add oil
*After the oil has heated up for two minutes, add the garlic, haldi and zeera powder. Sauté till the garlic is golden around the edges (make sure it does not turn brown, as it will taste bitter and rancid).
*Add chopped tomatoes, chili flakes and salt and stir (careful, tomatoes may splatter). Cover the saucepan with a lid and turn heat to medium. Leave to simmer for twenty minutes till tomato sauce has thickened. Check every five minutes to make sure tomatoes are not catching at the bottom of the saucepan.
*Remove from heat and set aside.

For the omelette
*Whisk eggs and set aside
*Place frying pan on medium-high heat and add oil, onions, salt, dhania powder, haldi and sauté till onions are golden and caramelised around the edges. This requires constant stirring and will take about 10-15 minutes.
*When onions are caramelised (bronze), add red chili flakes and pour the whisked eggs in. Gently stir, mixing onions with the whisked eggs. Turn heat down to medium.
*Tilt the pan so that it is evenly coated with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro.
*Working quickly (because you don’t want the egg mixture to overcook), add tomato sauce into the egg mixture a teaspoon at a time, creating a dotted pattern across the omelette. Allow egg mixture to cook for 3-4 more minutes, keeping a keen eye on the pan. As soon as the omelette begins to set around the edges of the frying pan and puffs up, transfer to the oven, placing under the grill/broiler. The centre of the omelette will be runny and look like custard – that’s what you want.
*For a soft-centred omelette, keep it under the grill for 3 minutes. Again, keep a keen eye on it; you don’t want it to burn.
*Before serving, sprinkle with the remainder 1 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro and eat immediately with your choice of bread – we had it with Persian lavash because that’s what my son likes best – while the omelette is still gloriously puffed up.

Comments

  1. s, this is delicious, somewhat along the lines of a shakshuka. i bet you must be celebrating tiny spoon’s first foray into spiced food. hopefully he is firmly on the track of eating spicy. when i was little i did not like spice much but i seem to be fast becoming my father’s daughter as there is nothing i love more than fresh green chilli. i am so glad that you are up and running again although i hope you are taking it slow as it takes time for the body to fully restore itself. m xx

    • M, We are kindred, because I adore green chillies, too, though I am on a red chili kick. They are tiny and truly pack a punch. I think I shall have to wait a while before Evren will indulge in those. x s

  2. This is gorgeous – and perfect comfort food for this horrendous winter. Glad you are on the mend XO

  3. I do make a tomato omelette but never sauced it. This looks and I’m sure tastes so much better. Tasnim likes aloo bhujia. And I have no idea how she figured out eating it (must have seen papa!) . She likes spicy – EV will need to be trained 😀

  4. Oh Shayma! How horrid for you. I had pneumonia when I was 21 – not nice at all. Glad you’re on the mend.

    This looks wonderful.

  5. So sorry to hear you’ve been sick, but glad you are back in the kitchen. I am an omelette junkie and can’t wait to make your spiced version, it sounds SO good.

  6. Hi Shayma – sorry to hear you’ve been so sick. I had pneumonia once and thought I was dying!
    Good that you’re feeling well enough to cook up delicious food again though. Pxx

  7. Shayma,Glad to know you are getting better now! And wonderful news that Turkish Delight enjoys a bit of spice….I hope you are fine really soon. God bless

  8. Hope you have recovered fully Shayma. Although I love the egg bhujiya more than the Omelette, the added spices reminds me of the omelette that my Mum makes when there is no other non-vegetarian dish at the table!

  9. Such a simple yet hearty breakfast recipe. Reminded me of shakshuka and interesting to note that Pakistani cuisine is very similar to Indian cuisine.

  10. Hina Tariq says:

    I saw this recipe last week and was waiting for Froday to prepare a Special Breakfast for my family ….
    It turned out Zaberdast

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