Masala Omelette

Masala Omelette is a breakfast staple in every Pakistani home.
My earliest food memory is waking up on Sundays to the enticing, omnipresent aroma of masala omelette and parathas ( fried flatbread) in the house. The prospect of rolling up spicy and delicious omelette into crispy parathas pulled me out of bed as nothing else would do. Back then I used to wash that down with a tall glass of sweet lassi ( yogurt drink) but now I content myself with a cup of black tea.
My mother made it with lots of fresh coriander and black pepper. I was in love with that version till I came across a more rustic and spicier omelette.
It was on a road trip from Lahore to Kashmir with my parents, we stopped for lunch at a roadside eatery ( Dhaba)…the place had nothing on the menu that would interest us but we were starving and there was nothing else to eat for miles ahead on that hillside road. We gave the cook instructions to make us some omelette…what he came up with was so delicious that I always make mine trying to recreate his recipe.
It had lots of tomatoes, onions, red chillies and cumin…and it became one of the simplest yet most memorable meals of my life.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 green chilli, chopped finely
A handful coriander leaves
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying

This Is What You Do :

Beat eggs in a bowl till frothy, add salt, chilli flakes and black pepper.
Heat the oil in a nonstick or heavy bottomed frying pan on medium heat.
Add onions, ginger, tomatoes and cumin seeds. Sauté For a minute.
Reduce heat to medium low to keep control over the texture of eggs. Add egg mixture and quickly rotate the pan to mix the ingredients and spread the eggs.
Sprinkle with green chillies and coriander. Cook till one side is golden, flip with a wide spatula to cook the other side.
Fold and serve hot with crisp toasted bread or parathas.

Serves 2

Tip:

You can also stir in leftover, cooked minced meat, boneless chicken, boiled potatoes for more filling and yummy masala omelette.