So what is this egg- xtravagant (bear with me as I chuckle) recipe that makes egg lovers go weak in the knees? It looks absolutely divine, like something out of the garden of Eden and tastes even better. Every time I make Sakhshuka at home, it goes from 4 eggs to 5. The last time it was 7 eggs and yet somehow the entire skillet gets wiped clean, I mean so clean that there wasn't even the tiniest trace of the sauce, which would've made even Poirot dumbstruck.
You might be wondering if it is some long drawn process since I'm always such a make-from-scratch type. The bad news is, yes, there is a bit of slow cooking involved if you want to make this drool-worthy, but the good news is I have a hack for you my friend! And mind you, it's such a devious little hack that it's going to save you ton of prep time.
The base of any good Shakshuka is the tomato sauce and for years I've been making my own homemade version of pizza/pasta sauce. So, now it's easy to put two and two together isn't it? I have also added some bell peppers as well, I simply love the combination of tomato and bell peppers with eggs. So here's my little recipe which I assure you will elevate your credibility as a cook in the eyes of your brunch guests. Do tag #saffronbowl when you share your creations on social media.
Ingredients
4-5 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced (optional)
1 medium onion finely chopped
350 ml Tomato based pasta sauce (home made or store bought )
1 tsp Himalayan salt as per taste
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
2 tbsp thick tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (divided)
Chopped Cilantro for garnish
Heat up the oil on a 10" skillet (non stick or cast iron). Toss in the garlic and onions and sweat them up a bit while adding a dash of salt. Once the onions get nice and translucent add the paprika, 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder and green bell peppers and stir for a minute. Now in goes the tomato paste, pasta sauce and the remaining salt, mix it all well and make sure the sauce bubbles up to a nice thick consistency, feel free to add some water in case the sauce feels too thick, around 1/3 cup water would be fine. Lower the heat once the sauce comes to a boil and make little indentations/ wells in the sauce into which you will crack the eggs. Once you crack the eggs into the wells, cover the skillet and let it slow cook on a low flame.
It takes around 7-10 minutes for this to cook, depending on how you like your eggs, soft and runny or well done. Once the eggs are done as per your liking, get the skillet off the heat, sprinkle on the rest of the Kashmiri Chilli Powder (this not only makes it look good, but takes the flavour to the next level) and add the chopped coriander leaves.
Now let's just chow down shall we :)
Tip- You can also 'bake' the eggs after the sauce is done, just transfer to a suitable greased baking dish, make those wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into the wells and bake in a pre-heated oven (375°F )for around 10 minutes. Try using quail eggs if you want to make this for kids, but just go easy on the spices. If you need a quick fix Shakshuka, feel free to skip the onion-garlic step and start off by sautéing bell peppers with the spices.