Shakshouka

I had visited a Middle Eastern restaurant in Kuwait a few years back with some of my friends and we ordered this new dish called ‘Shakshouka’. It loosely translates to ‘all mixed up’ in Arabic. It is a dish of poached eggs in a sauce of tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, paprika, cumin etc. It is often made in Tunisian, Israeli and Turkish cultures and mainly eaten for breakfast.

This flavourful dish features regularly for breakfast at home nowadays. It is easy and quick and makes for a healthy breakfast before leaving for office.

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Ingedients:

Olive oil – 2 tbsp

Onion – 2 large chopped

Green/Red or yellow peppers – 1 large diced

Garlic – 6 cloves crushed

Store bought Tomato paste – 1 tbsp

Dried basil leaves crushed – 1 tsp (optional)

Tomatoes – 2 large

Cumin/Jeera powder – 1 tsp

Red chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Red pepper flakes – 1/4 tsp

Fresh parsley leaves – 2 tsp chopped

Pepper powder – 1 tsp

4 or 5 large eggs

Feta cheese – 1/4 cup (crumbled)

Crusty bread or pita (for serving)

Salt – to taste

Preparation:

Heat a skillet and add oil. When the hoil is hot, add the chopped or crushed garlic and saute. Then, add the finely chopped onions. Saute it for about 5 minutes and when it turns translucent, add the chopped tomatoes. Saute it well until they are mushy and add the store bought tomato paste and the red chillie powder, cumin powder, dried basil leaves, red chillie flakes and saute well. Next, add the diced capsicums and stir until you get a nice aroma. Add 2 tbsp of water and let it cook in low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in between adding salt and pepper.

Now with the back of a spoon, make 4 small wells and crack an egg each directly into the 4 wells. You may gently spoon a little mixture over the whites to help contain the egg. Sprinkle little pepper and salt on top of the eggs.

Cover it with a lid and cook until the whites are opaque white in colour and the yolks are still soft or as per your preference. Usually the egg yolks should jiggle when you shake the pan. Turn off the heat and serve hot with crusty bread . Top it with chopped parsley leaves and crumbled feta.