By Melissa Clark
Published March 20, 2024
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- 4(345)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Like a mashup of shakshuka, eggs in purgatory and egg curry, this aromatic dish consists of jammy eggs cooked in a quickly made tomato sauce that’s scented with cardamom, garam masala and cinnamon. Canned cherry tomatoes give this sauce an especially sweet flavor, but if you can’t find them, canned diced tomatoes will also work. Although the sauce comes together quickly, you can make it ahead. It’ll keep for at least three days in the refrigerator. Then bring it to a simmer just before cracking in the eggs. Serve with toast or over rice to catch every bit of runny yolk.
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Ingredients
Yield:3 to 4 servings
- 2tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- 1medium onion, diced
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
- 2garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
- 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1bay leaf
- 1(2-inch) cinnamon stick (optional)
- 8cardamom pods, lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife (or ½ teaspoon ground cardamom)
- 2teaspoons garam masala
- 2teaspoons ground coriander
- 1teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 1(14-ounce) can cherry tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
- 6 to 8large eggs, depending on how many fit in your skillet
- ¼cup chopped cilantro, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
230 calories; 16 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 539 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Step
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Add the oil to a large cast-iron skillet or other oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook until tender and golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick (if using), cardamom, garam masala, coriander, cumin, turmeric and red-pepper flakes. Stir continuously for 30 seconds to 1 minute until spices are fragrant.
Step
3
Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 cup water, and bring sauce to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer vigorously until the sauce has thickened, using the back of a spoon to crush the tomatoes, 6 to 8 minutes. Taste and add more salt as needed.
Step
4
Carefully crack eggs over the sauce, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the eggs are still soft but set. Serve sprinkled with more salt and chopped cilantro.
Ratings
4
out of 5
345
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Cooking Notes
Ellen
This is soooo delish! Stirred in spinach at the end to give the dish a pop of color and tossed some feta over it to give it an added layer of flavor. Another amazing recipe from Melissa!
Barbara
Ok, l must ask- where does one buy canned cherry tomatoes? I will probably roast some instead.
Ray
Adding spinach is a good idea but I'd bet paneer would work better than feta to preserve the Indian flavor profile.
vidula
A great recipe for Shakshuka lovers and specially to those who enjoy Indian flavors. A side note - GARAM masala is a blend of spices, usually Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper. It is a very strong blend and you need very little to enhance a recipe. Usually a pinch or 1/2 tsp is enough for a dish of this quantity. Also you need to sprinkle it towards the end of your cooking to retain the flavor.
Gina
Many commercially-canned varieties of diced tomatoes have added calcium chloride as a firming agent; this is designed to keep the tomatoes from breaking down when heated, so if you want those diced tomatoes to make a sauce, choose a variety that hasn’t been so treated.
Cristie
Probably so. I make shakshuka on the stovetop using a glass skillet lid so that I can gauge the doneness of the eggs. I think this recipe would work similarly.
Chris
Kind of odd to use olive oil which is not the oil of choice in India. I don’t use ghee, but would suggest the more neutral canola oil rather than olive oil.
rageandqq
I would add the whole spices (cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom) into the hot oil first to get a better bloom and infuse those spices into the oil!
Brie
Absolutely! Just one tip, put the lid on the pan before adding eggs for a couple minutes to allow the lid to heat up. Then after and eggs and and replacing the lid you have a stovetop "oven".
Gina
A suggestion: when I use whole cardamom, unless I am infusing milk that will be strained (as for bread dough or a sauce), I use the seeds and not the whole pods in the dish. (My grandmother, who was born and raised in Schleswig-Holstein, baked a lovely white bread—with unbleached flour—using cardamom-scented scalded milk, probably a Scandinavian touch. And I love cardamom in rice pudding.)
joan
We had this for dinner tonight! 5 stars! We added spinach, great suggestion! I also just used the seeds from the cardamom pods.
Alobar
I don't think Canola oil would be any more authentic than Olive oil to Indian cuisine but, if that's what you prefer, I'd choose that over authenticity every time. I think Ghee would be an excellent choice, as would Coconut oil. Both of these are used broadly in Indian cuisine. At the end of the day, make what you like!
Anne
Mutti makes a great canned cherry tomato
Rajabrata Sarkar
Can this be made on the stovetop for the last step, rather than in the oven?
LM
The dried spices are intense so I used a 28oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes instead of 14oz. and added 5oz. baby spinach - it was perfect. This sauce is good with just about any protein, any meal and is so easy!
CookinRI
Delicious. Followed others’ advice and added frozen spinach and cooked the eggs on the stovetop covered rather than in the oven. Served with feta and cilantro.
Jody
Wow! This is delicious & I'll definitely be making this again. Husband & I really enjoyed it.
Nercon5
This was good. I added chickpeas. Our spicing nowadays is prodigious- I usually heap but not here. Is it so we can feel something?
Joan B
I buy canned cherry tomatoes at Whole Foods Market.
lorraine
yum - serve with big slabs of toasted rosemary olive oil bread
Jules
Delicious. Cooked as per the recipe. I like the idea of adding some spinach at the end before adding the eggs. Next time and there will be a next time!
Narcissa
We had it as is and fried some puri I had. It was great!
zoz
Great recipe! I made half a recipe and, rather than canned tomatoes, I used a 10 ounce jar of Matbucha (made with tomatoes and preserved lemon paste and other herbs and spices). I forgot to add spinach, but will do that next time. I think this sauce would be great with fish or over spaghetti. I’ll try that soon. Thank you Melissa for another winner.
Russ
I used diced tomatoes as that was what I had on hand and added a tablespoon (maybe more) of tomato paste to get some of the sweetness of cherry tomatoes into the sauce. Added bonus was the sauce thickened easily. Also included some roasted peppers which also help sweeten the dish. Delicious recipe and a winner when you don’t want to leave the house to cook something interesting.
andrea j
Green lentils and coriander sideToastFeta cheeseCollards
E. Lane
Made this over the weekend. We loved it and the house smelled AMAZING!!
Anne B
This went over well. Following the earlier suggestions, I added spinach. I also cooked the eggs on the stovetop in a covered skillet. Eight minutes made the eggs a bit too done. It is key that the garam masala is really fresh.
Maryka
Tons of flavor and easy to make. I will be making this often.
Mr Pants
Call me crazy but I could see adding in raisins and maybe yogurt.
Name Carol
I didn’t have garam masala so added a little curry powder and harissa! Got better by the day! A keeper!
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