Indian Mushroom and Scallion Scrambled Eggs

Here is another Indian scrambled egg breakfast that is much less piquant than the Punjabi-style scrambled eggs I made last week, but has the warm, earthy fragrance of fried mushrooms and scallions that makes it a nourishing, delicious and colourful plate on a cold autumn morning, wonderful with buttered toast and some fresh fruit. Like many of the simple dishes that I like to make, this recipe — called khumbi wala khichri unda — is taken with only minor modifications from Madhur Jaffrey's wonderful book World Vegetarian.

Indian mushroom and scallion scrambled eggs

3 tablespoons sesame oil
4 large white mushrooms, diced
1 small firm tomato, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced, both green and white parts
8 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
fresh ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat. As soon as it is hot, toss in the mushrooms and stir-fry for a few minutes until they appear silken. Add the tomato, jalapeño and the white parts of the scallions, turn the heat down to medium, and stir-fry for another few minutes until the tomato is softened.

With a fork, lightly beat the eggs together with the salt. Pour in the pan along with the green parts of the scallion and the cilantro. Stir the eggs gently with a wooden spoon for 10-15 minutes, depending on the intensity of the heat, until the eggs have been cooked into firm and fairly dry curds.

Serve hot right out of the pan and grind black pepper to taste over the servings. Serves 2-4.