Lusan murcha na charvaela eeda

Todiwala family's masala scrambled eggs

By: Cyrus Todiwala
From: Mr Todiwala's Bombay
Serves: 4
Photographer: Helen Cathcart

Like most Parsees, my family is egg-crazy and I, for one, can eat them every day (I particularly love bantam eggs, if you can get them). However, unlike others who will do many variations of scrambled eggs, this is our family recipe that we stick to and the one that we all love. We serve it with what we call granu toast in our extended family homes, but any good, crisp toast or crusty, hot rolls with oodles of butter would be great. Be very patient when cooking scrambled eggs of any sort. Have everything else ready – including the family drooling at the table – before you start cooking them!

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
8-10	eggs
2 tablespoons	cream or whole milk
1 tablespoon	sunflower or rapeseed oil
3-4	garlic cloves, very finely chopped or minced
30g	butter
2-3	slender green chillies, very finely chopped or minced
1 1/2 tablespoons	coriander leaves, finely chopped
	salt, to taste

To serve

Quantity	Ingredient
	hot toast
	butter

Method

Break the eggs into a bowl. Add the cream or milk and beat until well blended but not frothy. Set aside to rest.
Heat the oil in a smallish heavy-based non-stick saucepan or flameproof casserole, add the garlic and sauté until pale golden. Immediately add the butter and stir until melted. This will cool the pan down and not allow the garlic to over-colour.
Add the green chillies and sauté for another minute or two over a medium-low heat. Once the aroma is nearly tantalising (the chillies do not need to cook well or brown so just softened is enough), make sure the heat is fairly low, then add the eggs. Use a wooden or plastic spatula (not a whisk) and stir very gently but continuously from side to side and edge to edge (eggs have a tendency to cook at the edge of the pan first and this will destroy your consistency if not gently stirred in all the time). Continue to stir slowly until rich and creamy and the egg is beginning to thicken and get lumpy. Do not allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle and spoil.
Remove the pan from the heat but keep stirring until you have a mottled yet lusciously creamy texture and the eggs are soft and runny but not watery and over cooked.
Add the chopped coriander.
Check for seasoning or leave the diners to adjust it for themselves. Serve with hot buttered toast and lots of everything else you may like.