Three techniques that give protein-packed eggs exciting main-meal energy

One of the lesser known aspects of the Indian kitchen is how many canny techniques exist for turning a simple and singular ingredient into a meal. It’s the sort of information that lends itself to sharing because food is pricey and time is generally short.

Let’s start with eggs.

Eggs are great because they have protein, they (mostly) bridge the vegetarian-omnivore divide and they can withstand a lot of cooking. They’re also happy to take on flavour. So if you’ve got a half dozen eggs in your fridge and the wherewithal with at least one of the below approaches at the stovetop, you’ve got a meal. And a good one.

1. Technique one: the triple cook

Time required — 45 minutes

Triple-cooking an egg is an instant elevation of ingredient. It’s a bit process-y but, to be fair, it’s the process that gives a simple ingredient heft.

First we hard-boil ‒ this is the set and forget aspect. Once hard-boiled and cooled ‒ around 15 minutes all up ‒ it’s time to shell the eggs and deep-fry.

I deep-fry eggs in a cast iron wok. It can be done in a heavy-bottomed pot, an actual deep fryer or any type of wok-shaped vessel. You want enough vegetable oil that the egg won’t touch the pan bottom, and the oil hot enough that the boiled egg surface blisters on contact. Roll the egg in the oil until the blistering is even and then drain on kitchen towel. We’re at about 30 minutes now.

The third step is where texture and taste notches up. Indian kitchens would take a large frying pan or small kadai or wok, drizzle a few tablespoons of your fat of choice — ghee, sesame oil, mustard oil, maybe even peanut oil — and then toss in spices with fresh diced tomato or tomato paste: cook down for a few minutes then add your deep-fried boiled eggs.

When it comes to spicing, fennel powder, ginger powder, salt, turmeric powder, chilli and cumin seed are easy bets. You can find my Kashmiri egg recipe here. But you could give your triple-cooked eggs an Italian accent with tomato paste, olive oil, olives, capers, paprika and pepper. Or a Middle Eastern vibe with olive oil, sumac, harissa, garlic paste, lemon juice, herbs and fresh tomatoes.

Whatever kitchen culture you favour, cook down your eggs in their spice bed for 10 to 15 minutes on a medium-low heat. The tomato-spice base should be reduced and aromatic. Serve two eggs per person with couscous, rice, pasta… pick your carbohydrate. A salad on the side and you’re golden.

2. Technique two: the deep-fry

Time required — 10 minutes

Deep-frying is the fastest way to increase the calorie density in a dish, and calorie density is a huge part of what give an ingredient like an egg enough extra ballast to go from breakfast food to legitimate evening meal choice.

The quick and easy option here is to whip up your favourite three-egg omelette, while at the same time heating a volume of vegetable oil on the stove. Unlike the triple-cooked egg, this doesn’t need a wok or deep fryer. We’re just looking for a frying pan deep enough so that two or three centimetres of vegetable oil can heat without issue.

My omelette of choice has salt and pepper, a little turmeric and chilli powder, and finely diced onion and green chilli. I add a dash of milk and also a tablespoon of sour cream — it brings the right amount of richness and a gentle tug of acidity. Whisk together, slide into the oil and wait for it to puff and prance. Yes, there may be oil splatter. Fold the omelette and, when cooked, drain on kitchen paper. Slide it into a fluffy roll with your chutneys of choice and a handful of oven chips.

3. Technique three: the bake

Time required — 30 minutes

Anyone who’s ever loved a shakshuka brunch (or Adam Liaw’s shakshuka egg curry, above) will love this egg makeover. To give it heft, we break this compilation dish into two parts.

First up, shallow-fry a little thinly sliced potato and eggplant in hot oil until soft. Use them to line the bottom of a cast iron skillet, top with seasoned passata — my go-to seasoning here is a mix of pink salt, sea salt, cracked black pepper, fine white pepper, turmeric powder and chilli powder — add some sliced halloumi, crack two eggs in and add fistfuls of your favourite herbs.

To finish, sprinkle the eggs with sumac and cumin powder, baharat or garam masala to finish. Bake in a moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Use chunks of crusty bread to eat it hot straight from the skillet.