Love eating fried eggs? Indian chefs encourage you to innovate with chorizo, dried prawns and watercress

Almost every non-vegetarian person loves eating fried eggs. In fact, such is its popularity that even a certain section of vegetarians want to enjoy a bit of it either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. While the fried egg is popular, eating a typical sunny-side-up may often get boring even though it is quick. There are other times, when you want to make a meal out of it but don't know how to make it wholesome. However, Indian chefs feel otherwise and are here to your rescue.

Every year, people observe World Egg Day on October 13 to celebrate eggs as they are beneficial to the body being a high-quality protein. Over the years, chicken eggs are commonly eaten in most parts of the world in different forms including boiled, poached and fried -- but the latter is undoubtedly one that is among the more popular versions that can be added to just about any dish.

In fact, Indian chefs are constantly innovating with the classic fried egg to not only make Indian dishes but also taking inspiration from recipes around the world to make their own dishes. Being one of them, chef Rahul Punjabi, chef with Masala Library at BKC explains why. He says, "Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients in any culture's pantry. The magic that they can bring to a recipe is unequivocal when compared to most other ingredients. Even when you think you've seen it all, eggs have a way of surprising us with another cooking application at which they excel."

Ahead of the day that celebrates eggs, mid-day reached out to chefs across India to share unique recipes where they take the classic fried egg and elevate it in different ways to suit every kind of palate. While some of them suggest adding chorizo to it, there are others who want you to combine it with dried prawns, put it in an appam, and even use local ingredients to make it unique and wholesome to make you fall in love with fried eggs all over again.

Chorizo Fried Eggs
Bringing together the best of both worlds, chef Sunil Dutt, culinary director at W Goa, recommends elevating fried eggs by adding chorizo to the preparation and enjoying it any time of the day. Combining fried eggs with chorizo, shallots and spring onions, he promises it will be a treat. In fact, he shares a tip, "Cook chorizo first and use the released oil to flavour the other ingredients. Use olive oil in the beginning for best results."

Ingredients:
(Ready in 25 minutes and Serves 1 people, 261 calories)

Fried Egg
Eggs 2 nos
Oil 1 tbsp
Ground Pepper
Salt to taste

Chorizo
Chorizo 40 gm
Shallot ½
Spring onion, sliced 2 pieces
Chilli, chopped 1 nos
Olive oil 1 tbsp

Garnish
Cherry tomato
Microgreens

Method:
1. Cook chorizo with a dash of olive oil.
2. Cook shallots, spring onion and chilli till coloured and flavoured. Mix and keep warm until assembly.
3. Fry the egg as per preference.
4. Place cherry tomatoes and chorizo around the eggs and garnish with microgreens.
5. Season as desired.

Also Read: World Egg Day 2023: Add more flavour to your mundane breakfast with these chef-special egg recipes

Onion Gruyere Custard, Chorizo, Grilled Croissant
While Dutt wants you to combine fried eggs with chorizo, chef Dane Fernandes, who is the executive chef at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, wants you to take it a step further with the same ingredients and more. Fernandes says you can elevate the classic fried egg by making a delicious onion gruyere custard pairing it with chorizo, frying the egg in the chorizo fat, and serving it with a grilled croissant.

Ingredients:
Croissant 1 no
White Onion 100 gm
Thyme 1 gm
White wine 100 ml
Gruyere cheese 50 gm
Butter 20 gm
Elle & Vire cream 100 gm
Agar-Agar 1 gm
Water - 100 ml
Arugula - 5 gm
Goan chorizo - 75 gm
Egg - 1 no

Method:

Onion Gruyere Custard:
1. Melt butter in a pan, add a sprig of thyme.
2. Sweat white onions. Do not caramelise.
3. Deglaze the pan with white wine.
4. Add cream and gruyere cheese. Season with salt and white pepper.
5. Blend to a fine puree.
6. Hydrate agar-agar in a pan and add the pureed onions into the it. Ensure that the mixture reaches above 95 degrees Celsius. Refrigerate it.
7. Blend the jelly into a fine puree and pass it through a sieve.

Chorizo:
1. Blanch the chorizo and let it cool.
2. Cut into small dices. Slow cook on a pan. Take the chorizo out and keep the fat in the pan.

Assembly:
1. Grill the croissant on a hot plate/griller.
2. Spread the onion gruyere custard.
3. Add arugula and the chorizo.
4. With the chorizo fat make a fried egg.
5. Place the egg on top of the chorizo.

Crispy Fried Egg, Sukhat Jhinga Masala
Are you not a fan of chorizo? Then you don't have to worry because Indian chefs are experimenting with other ingredients that can be combined with eggs. At Masala Library in Bandra Kurla Complex, chef Rahul Punjabi has done just that with the crispy fried egg and sukhat jhinga masala. The dish, he says, is inspired from a Thai version of fried eggs. He explains, "The Cantonese Thai community has a unique version of fried eggs where the eggs are beaten together with some rice starch. When fried on high heat in a shallow layer of oil, the eggs get a layer of crunchiness with a silky chewy texture on the inside due to the starch." This recipe, he says, aims to show people an underrated and seldom-heard technique of cooking eggs," he adds.

For the Masala

Ingredients:
Sukhat Jhinga (dried prawns) 1/2 cup
Coconut oil 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Coriander seeds 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
Garlic, fine chopped 2 tbsp
Ginger, fine chopped 2 tbsp
Green chilli, slit in half 1 no
Onion 1/2 cup
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Tomatoes 1/3 cup
Kashmiri chilli 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Black pepper 1 tsp
Coconut vinegar 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1. In a kadhai, heat up the dried prawns until it begins to pop, then add in 1/2 cup of water, boil for 30 seconds and drain the prawns.
2. In the same kadhai, add in the oil and once hot, temper the whole spices.
3. Add in the garlic, ginger and green chilli, cook until soft, add in the onions and cook on medium high heat until all are golden.
4. Add in the sukhat prawns and curry leaves, saute for 30 seconds and add in the diced tomatoes. After 2 minutes, deglaze with some water to stop the mix from burning and add the powdered spices.
5. Reduce until all the water has boiled off and deglaze once more with the vinegar. Cook for 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Once cooled, blend this in a food blender to get a smooth paste. Set aside.

For the prawns:

Ingredients:
Peeled and deveined prawns (small size) 250 gm
Rice starch 2 tbsp
Dark soy 1 tsp
Water 2-3 tbsp

Method:
1. Make a batter and marinate the prawns in the batter.
2. When you are ready to cook, heat the kadhai with a shallow layer of oil until almost smoking.
3. Once hot, gently place just the prawns into the wok keeping the marination aside for later.
4. Flash fry the prawns for just 30 seconds and reserve aside.

For the eggs:
3 free-range organic eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp rice starch
1 tbsp water

Method:
1. Mix the starch, salt and water together. Add in the eggs to this mix and beat them together to fully break the egg.
2. In a non-stick pan, add 5-6 tbsp of veg oil and once very hot, add in the eggs. In slow sweeping motions move the egg, allowing large curds to form. The egg should look like a broken omelette but not small enough pieces to look like scrambled eggs. Keep flipping the egg pieces on the high heat. You want the outside of the egg to get fully crispy.
3. Once cooked, pass the eggs through a sieve and remove the excess oil.
4. Bring the pan back on the heat, add in the fried prawns, 3-5 tbsp of the prepared masala (enough to cover) and half the remaining prawn marination with the starches. Cook briefly for 4 minutes until the prawns have cooked through and the sauce is sticky and gelatinous.
5. Add in a squeeze of lemon juice, and some chopped coriander and pour the prawns over the crispy eggs leaving some of the eggs uncovered by the sauce for a contrasting texture.

Egg Appam
If you love South Indian food, then you how about adding a fried egg to a traditional food item? While there are versions that exist, Chef Bhakti Mehta, who is also the founder of Little Food Co., says you can simply find comfort in an egg appam. The familiarity of the appam with the fried egg along with toppings like sea salt, oregano, chilli flakes, melted cheese, bacon bits, guacamole or the classic South Indian favourite of mulagapodi powder is what Mehta believes is a pure treat.

Ingredients:
Cooked rice 1/2 cup
Coconut milk 1 1/2 cup
Rice flour 1 cup
Water 1/2 cup
Sugar 1 tbsp
Instant yeast a pinch
Salt a pinch

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and make batter. Allow to rest for at least 60 minutes.
2. Heat the appam pan or any pan in similar shape. Sprinkle water on the hot pan.
3. Use 1.5 ladle of batter and swirl the pan coating all sides.
4. Allow it to cook for 30 seconds, break an egg in the same and cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on how you want your egg yolk - runny or firm.
5. Cook without a lid for 1 min to make the sides crisp.
6. Top up with a choice of toppings like sea salt, seasonings like oregano or chilli flakes, melt cheese along with egg if you like, top with bacon bits, guacamole, mulagapudi powder.

Korean Bibimbap Chicken Rice Bowl
When you talk about fried eggs, it is impossible to miss out on the classic Korean dishes, especially at a time when India is experiencing the Korean wave to the fullest. So, it is no surprise when chef Ravi Ranjan of Ditas says you can make a delicious Korean bibimbap chicken rice bowl at home, whenever you have the time to make an elaborate meal. He shares, "The addition of a fried egg on top of a bibimbap bowl is like the finishing touch to a beautiful painting. It not only adds a rich, creamy texture but also symbolises the sun, representing the harmony of flavours and colours in this iconic Korean dish."

Ingredients:
White rice, cooked, short grain 1 cup
Egg, large 1 no
Black and white sesame seeds, toasted 1/2 tsp
Chicken, cut into thin strips 180 gm
Garlic, minced 2 cloves
Dark soy sauce 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce 1/2 tbsp
Sesame oil 1 tbsp
Zucchini, cut into thin slices, medium 1 no
Carrot, cut into long strips, large 1 no
Shitake mushrooms, cut into strips 60 gm
Cucumber, cut into strips, large 1
Bean sprouts 2 tbsp
Garlic clove, minced 1 no
Salt 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil 1 tsp

Bibimbap sauce
Gochujang 2 tbsp
Sesame oil 1 tbsp
Honey 1 tbsp
Water 1 tbsp
Rice vinegar 1 tbsp
Soy sauce 1 tbsp
Garlic clove, chopped finely 1 no

Method
1. Combine all the bibimbap sauce ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
2. Preheat your oven to 230 degrees Celsius.
3. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
4. Add all the ingredients (except the vegetables and rice) and your chicken to a bowl and toss everything until well combined.
5. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
6. Add the zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms to the prepared baking pan, season with salt, 1 tsp chopped garlic and sesame oil. Toss everything together then transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast for 8-10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
7. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the chicken starts to char a little.
8. Heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a clean skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of minced garlic. Stir everything together, then transfer to a large platter.
9. Blanche the bean sprouts in the boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain under cold water. Place them in a bowl and toss together with a teaspoon of sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic. Transfer to the large platter.
10. Additional vegetables to be added here are cucumbers, red cabbage, nori (seaweed) or lettuce leaves.
11. If using a stone bowl, lightly coat the bottom with some oil before assembling the other ingredients and cooking over medium- high heat.

Assemble Bowl:
1. Fry your egg in a skillet to your liking, preferably with runny yolks.
2. Place hot rice in a bowl then top with vegetables, meat and finally your sunny-side up egg.
3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle some extra sesame oil. Serve with Bibimbap sauce.

Fried Egg, Peas & Quinoa Cake
If you have always wanted a healthy version while eating eggs, then Adest Vast, who is the junior sous chef at Novotel Goa Resort & Spa has a solution. Vast suggests making your fried eggs with peas and quinoa cake - all of which is so wholesome. "This version of fried eggs is healthy, delicious," he shares.

Ingredients:
Cooked quinoa 1 cup
Green peas, frozen 1 cup
Shallot 1/2
Garlic pods 2 nos
Leek 20 gm
Celery 20 gm
Fresh herbs 1 tsp
Eggs 1 no

For Eggs & Topping
Eggs 2 nos
Thick Tomato slices
Avocado 1 no
Lemon 1 no
Almond flakes 1 tsp
Salt a pinch
Black pepper a pinch
Olive oil

Method:
1. Mix the cooked quinoa with peas and all the patty ingredients in a pan and cook it all together.
2. After that, remove out the mix and add 1 egg and all the other ingredients into a mixing bowl.
3. Prepare the mix as a small 80 gm patty in round shape.
4. In a pan on light heat, sear and cook the patty till it is golden in colour, and keep it aside.
5. In a separate pan, cook the eggs in the shape of a round mould, or it can be your own choice.
6. Sear the tomato with your choice of seasoning.
7. Now, take the avocado, slice it and apply lemon and keep aside.
8. Once all things are ready assemble them with patty as a base, egg on top and finish it off with avocado sliced, sprinkle with almond flakes and choice of your dressing if required as per your taste.
9. Eat immediately when warm to enjoy maximum flavours.

Oven Fried Egg with Shrivelled Local Garlic Cress
Boasting of being in the hills and getting their fresh produce from there, Chef Arun at Araiya Palampur wants you to pair fried eggs with watercress to produce a unique dish that has a variety of flavours. With a mix of eggs, watercress, locally sourced Himalayan garlic, salt and peppercorns, he promises that it will appeal to your taste buds in more ways than one.

Ingredients:
Country Eggs 2 nos
Nasturtium watercress 50 gm
Himalayan garlic cloves 3 no
Olive oil 20 ml
Himalayan salt to preference
Smashed peppercorns to preference

Method:
1. Keep the watercress in ice cold water for it to attain its crisp texture. Heat a skillet, put some olive oil and sauté a sliver of garlic. Toss the ice-cold watercress with the garlic and cook.
2. Heat a silicon sheet with depressions and desired shape in the oven with Olive oil to get the texture of a fried egg. Break the eggs in pouring dish and place it in the sheet with olive oil.
3. Poach the oil and the egg will take 5 minutes to get the golden colour. Let it get 15 seconds of steam to retain the moisture of cooked egg skin.
4. Serve along the pungent mustard and Nasturtium cress.
5. Garnish with fresh fennel microgreens and a drizzle of virgin olive oil.