This is my family’s favourite brunch, but it also makes a great quick supper dish.
You can really make this shakshuka your own by topping it with different proteins, vegetables, pickles, avocado – anything you like, really. It has its origins in Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, and is a hearty dish of stewed vegetables, tomatoes and eggs.
My recipe incorporates Indian spices, along with meatiness from the mushrooms and sweetness from the peppers, all of which pair perfectly with the drippy egg yolks.
Masala Shakshuka
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp ghee or olive oil
• 1 tsp ajwain seeds
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
• 1 tbsp ginger purée
• 1 tbsp garlic purée
• 2-3 green bird’s-eye chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 portobello mushrooms, chopped into chunks
• 1 red capsicum, chopped into chunks
• 1 green capsicum, chopped into chunks
• 2 tbsp cream cheese (optional)
• 6-8 medium eggs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
• handful of chopped coriander
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• pickled red cabbage (shop-bought)
• Chilli garlic pesto (optional)
Method
Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the ajwain seeds and let them pop and fizz for 10 seconds, then add the onion, tomato paste, ginger, garlic and bird’s-eye chillies, along with the ground spices. Cook this masala base for 5-8 minutes until the onions are soft.
Add the mushrooms and peppers and cook for another 5-8 minutes until softened, then season with a generous pinch of salt. Add a splash of water to loosen and stir through the cream cheese (if using).
Make 6-8 small wells in the masala using your spoon, and crack an egg into each well. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, then cover the pan with a lid and allow the eggs to cook for 3-4 minutes, making sure the yolks are still runny.
Garnish with the coriander, red chilli and pickled red cabbage, then dollop over the pesto, if using. I like to serve this with warm buttery toasted rolls or English muffins.
Chilli Garlic Pesto
Ingredients
• 130g unsalted cashews
• 10 curry leaves
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped (including stalks)
• 30g basil leaves
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 garlic cloves
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• zest and juice of one lemon
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat a dry frying pan over a low heat. Add the cashews and curry leaves. After 1-2 minutes, as they turn golden, make a well inside the pan and add the cumin seeds. They will pop and cook after 10-15 seconds, releasing a warming herbal aroma. Once you can smell this, allow the cashews, curry leaves and cumin seeds to cool.
Once cool, tip them into a blender and add all the remaining ingredients apart from the lemon juice.
Blitz together then add the lemon juice and blitz again. You want your pesto to be smooth but still have some texture. If you need to, add more oil, slowly drizzle it in as you are blending.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
This will keep for up to five days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Rajasthani Lamb Curry
A delicious, spicy, hearty and tender lamb curry originating from Rajasthan in India.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
• 1½ tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 1-2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1½ onions, diced
• 3 tbsp garlic purée
• 2 tbsp ginger purée
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 500g skinless diced lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat and on the bone
• 3 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 375ml (1½ cups) boiling water
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
• chopped coriander
• thumb-sized piece of ginger, chopped into matchsticks
Method
Heat the ghee and vegetable oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, throw in the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, dried chillies and cumin seeds, and let it all pop and sizzle for 15-20 seconds until the aromas are released.
Add the onions and fry for 3-4 minutes, letting them caramelise and brown really well, then season with a pinch of salt and add the garlic, ginger and green chillies.
Cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes until browned and softened.
Add the lamb and cook for 5 minutes to brown and seal, then add the tomato paste and all the ground spices.
Season again with salt and pepper. Let it cook for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and add the boiling water.
Cover and leave to reduce for 1 hour, checking every 20-30 minutes to ensure it is not catching at the bottom.
When it’s ready, the meat should be tender and the gravy dark and thick. Take off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes, seasoning once more with salt and pepper if needed.
Garnish with coriander and ginger matchsticks and serve.
Seasonal Saag
Saag is a dish that is always prepared during the harvest season in North India.
The air would be filled with the aroma of mustard greens being cooked in copious amounts of ghee and spices. Saag is a dish I often crave, but it is very hard to get hold of mustard greens. Instead, this recipe uses kale and baby spinach.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
• 500g frozen chopped kale (or 400g fresh)
• 500g baby leaf spinach
• 2 large white onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp garlic purée
• 2½ tbsp ginger purée
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2-3 green bird’s eye chillies, chopped
• 3-4 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 whole mace
• 1 tsp ajwain seeds
• 2 dried long red Kashmiri chillies
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 125ml (½ cup) single cream, plus extra to serve
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
• 1 tsp salted butter
• small handful of coriander
Method
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
Add the kale and boil for a few minutes until it darkens and wilts, then drain and tip into a blender. Add the baby spinach, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and chillies to the blender, along with 125ml (½ cup) water. Blend until the mixture is smooth and slightly loose.
Melt the ghee in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds, mace, ajwain seeds and dried red chillies. Let them sizzle and pop for 10-15 seconds until their aromas are released, then add the ground spices, along with the kale and spinach purée. Stir well, reduce the heat to low-medium, and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Once the purée starts to thicken a little, add the cream, season to taste and take off the heat. The texture should be thick and velvety.
Swirl through the salted butter and a little extra cream to serve, then scatter with the coriander and enjoy.
An edited extract from Bindas: Comfort Food with an Indian Soul by Mehak Kansal (Murdoch Books, $45).
