Recipe contributed by: Sheeraz Wania
Y for Yogurt Eggs by Sheeraz Wania
Eggs are a staple of the Parsi diet. We Parsis love our eedu and have it in so many different combinations, with various vegetables and on its own in many delicious concoctions. Besides being served as an ingredient in many dishes, eggs are also prepared on their own as a main course for lunch or as an appetizer for dinner.
My take on yogurt eggs is based on an age-old Turkish recipe called Cilbir. More than a thousand years ago, Central Asian Turks were the first to make Yogurt. Initially, it was used for medicinal purposes. The word Yogurt comes from a Turkish word meaning ‘to blend’. Since the Central Asians at the time led a nomadic life, they came up with methods to preserve their food and this is one reason why milk was made into yogurt.
Yogurt has many nutritional qualities; and my search for a high protein breakfast option led me to this combination. Along with being a super food, yogurt has the ability to cleanse the body from toxins and poisons. It has probiotics, which support gut health and help boost the immune system as well.
Generally we tend to eat yogurt with berries and other fruits as a breakfast choice. Here my yogurt eggs combines the nutritional benefits of both these super foods and is an amazingly quick, easy, delicious and loaded with health benefits. Furthermore, the recipe can be tweaked to suit your own taste buds.
I sometimes add some vegetables to it like cucumbers and beets, avocado or shredded carrots to make it heartier, season it with a combination of chillies, garlic, curry leaves etc. You can use any spice according to your likes and dislikes.
Bawi Bride’s Note:
This recipe calls for poaching eggs which, for me has always been a bit of a hit or miss. Even though the recipe below explains how to poach an egg, if you’re new to this I strongly recommend checking out this post by Rhea Mitra Dalal before starting – I’ve tried her method and it works!
Yogurt Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup yogurt, strained to remove moisture
- 2 tsp dill - can substitute with any herb of your choice
- 1 red chilly,
- 2 cloves garlic
- 5 curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- To poach the eggs, fill a deep saucepan with water and the vinegar. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into separate bowls. Once the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Using a spoon, swirl the water in one direction creating a whirlpool effect. Holding the bowl containing one of the eggs just above the surface of the water, carefully slide the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Do this again with the second egg. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 3 minutes (no peeking!) Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to gently lift the eggs out of the water. Gently transfer to a paper towel to drain. You can also refer to my blog post above on an excellent link which teaches how to poach eggs.
- Once the eggs are done, mix the herbs in the yogurt. For a summery taste, you can even add in some cubed cucumber.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Put it in a bowl and top with two freshly poached warm eggs.
- In a pan heat the butter and add in the chopped chilly, garlic and curry leaf. Fry until golden.
- Put this spice mix atop the eggs and yogurt and dig in. If you like you can also garnish with some fried onions.
This post is part of my ongoing series on the blog, the A to Z of Parsi Food which has been curated in collaboration with Parsi food enthusiasts globally. For more interesting recipes follow the hashtag #AtoZChallenge mentioned below.