Tangy Poached Eggs With Herbs 'n' Spices

Eggs are, unsurprisingly, a very common staple among breakfast cuisines, and since I like to experiment with my cooking, this recipe is a long compiled, luscious taste of mornings spent to try and put together a fast-cooked, yet tasteful breakfast right before I left for my classes. I hope you will have the same experience and get to serenely enjoy this very appealing (to the taste buds) serving of poached eggs!

On that note, I do have to say, it is so much more than some simple poached eggs, and has a carefully chosen combination that goes down well with the tongue and the soul, so if you can, do appreciate it slowly and thoroughly.

This recipe is intended for 2 servings. Takes ~20 minutes to cook.

1. Eggs, 2
2. Finely Chopped Onions, 2 medium sized
3. Sliced tomato, 1 medium sized
4. Green Chillies, 2 (or according to taste)
5. Coriander Powder, 1 tbsp
6. Ginger Powder, 1/2 tbsp
7. Black Pepper, 1/2 tbsp
8. Sun-dried Fenugreek Leaves, 1/2 tbsp
9. Block of Cheese, Small
10. Salt, as per tastes
11. Oil, 1 tbsp

The very first step would be to start frying the finely chopped onions in a pan with just a little bit of butter or oil, whichever your preference, and turn 'em over and around till they're evenly cooked and turn translucent, but not golden brown. We want the onions to be sweet and juicy to bite into.

Once you feel it's done, or they start looking like in the picture, move on to the next step.

We begin by lightly frying the black pepper and green chillies, so they're not as sharp on the tongue and blend in with the other flavors, but only do this for ~30 seconds or so, because we don't want to burn them or the onions, either.

Then, add the sliced tomato, and gently roll and mix it with the onions and spices so it starts frying too.

Do note that we only half-fry all the ingredients in this step, so they're more palatable.

Moving on, add the ginger powder over the pan like in the second picture - it's gonna add to the freshness of the dish even more. Keep stirring and frying everything till the tomato starts to break down. This is indication our frying is done, and so start adding water to the pan in little amounts (believe me, I do it with a spatula) and keep stirring till you get a thick gravy resembling the one in the last picture. We need to keep the dish juicy, and not runny, so this is essential.

Now, it's time to cook the eggs! We're not frying or boiling them, and so they're gonna mix really well with what we've prepared, but there is no need to stir now. Keep the pan on a low flame, break the eggs over opposite sides, and do not use a spatula at all. Your base gravy is ready, and now you only need to garnish the eggs.

So, here I used some fenugreek leaves and some cheese, grated, to top it off. Sprinkling some salt will help, too. You do not need to break the yolk, or mix the egg whites, they will draw their flavors from underneath. Cover the pan and keep checking in small intervals if the yolk's done to your liking - I personally prefer it half cooked, so the yolk will run out and cream up the rest of the dish.

Let the pan rest for a few minutes on the stove when you're finished with the cooking, and voilà! The poached eggs will be ready for you to slice out of the pan with your thick gravy, and it'll all culminate into a very fine breakfast serving!