Shakshuka is a popular breakfast dish in parts of the Mediterranean and North Africa. First tasted this at a beachside café, one lazy Saturday morning and have always wanted to make it at home since. Surprisingly most of the ingredients in Shakshuka are common to an Indian Egg Burji, with a few Mediterranean twists. It also reminds me of a Parsi favorite, Tamota per Eedu.
Recipe:
Shakshuka
Equipment
- A frying pan with a lid, flat bottomed
Ingredients
- 2 tbs Olive oil [plus, a little extra for drizzling]
- 3 – 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Onion [finely chopped]
- 1/2 cup Capsicum / Bell Peppers [finely chopped]
- 3 Tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika [can be replaced by red chili powder]
- 1 tsp Ras el hanout Spice Mix [can be replaced by cumin powder]
- 1/2 tsp Dried Dill
- 1/2 tsp Pepper [freshly ground]
- Salt [to taste]
- 3 Eggs
- 2 tsp Coriander Leaves
Instructions
- Chop the garlic, onions, tomatoes and peppers fine.
- Heat olive oil in a flat-bottomed frying pan and add the garlic when hot. Stir-fry the garlic for about 30 seconds and add the onions and peppers1. Cook these until the onions are shiny and translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt to the onion mix; cover with a lid and simmer for 4 – 5 mins.
- Once the tomatoes have softened, add half a tsp of Smoked paprika2, a tsp of Ras-al-hanout3 spice mix and half a tsp of dried dill. Stir well, pop the lid back on, and allow to simmer for an additional 2 – 3 mins. You could also add a third of a cup of water to the tomatoes at this point, if you feel the mixture is getting a bit dry. We are looking for a thick, semi-gravy consistency.
- Make small wells in the tomato mixture and crack an egg into each well. Top the eggs with salt and pepper, cover and allow to simmer for 2 – 3 minutes. Turn the heat off, but keep the lid on for an additional 5 mins to allow the eggs to poach in the residual heat.
- After about 5 mins, when the egg whites have set firm, top the dish with fresh, chopped coriander and a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve the Shakshuka right out of the frying pan. It goes great with any kind of bread. My go to is whole wheat bread with a nice firm crust; just soaks up all that tomato-y goodness so well!
Recipe notes:
1You can use a mix of red and yellow bell-peppers; this gives the dish a sweeter note. I’ve used green capsicum as those were the only ones available at my grocer earlier this week.
2You can use chili powder if you prefer a bit more heat or don’t have paprika on hand.
3Ras el Hanout is a commonly used spice mix in Northern Africa. If you can’t find this at a supermarket near you, just use a mix of cumin powder, black pepper and turmeric instead. Or keep it really simple and just use cumin powder!
Here’s a quick play-by-play of how to make Shakshuka. Let me know in the comments if you have any notes or questions.🖖
