Allo Anday ki Bhujia - Potato Egg Masala

Arrival of the holy month of Ramzan disrupts ones routine. From eating to sleeping to socializing, everything changes for muslims. Muslims in different parts of the world fast for 30 days of the 9th month of the Islamic Calendar. In some places the daily fast is as long as 19 hours or more, while in other places fasting period is around 13 hours a day. This routine changes our diet and the time of taking meals.  

Allo Anday is a simple dish cooked almost daily in Pakistani households during the month of fasting and eaten during the Sehri (3rd part of the night when Muslims begin their fast) with chappati, toast or paratha accompanied with yogurt. It has carbs and proteins and has far less spice than the regular curries hence it is preferred by many like me. My fridge never runs out of allo anday ki Bhujia during ramzan. During the regular days i eat this bhujia with toast and chai for brunch. Once in a while it also becomes part of a sandwich for my lunch box. 

The recipe i am sharing here belongs to my maternal aunt – Khala who has earned her culinary repute for making “The Best Allo Anday ki Bhujia” in the entire family. 

Here is my contribution to this underrated and humble dish!

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 450 gms (diced in small cubes. See the picture)

Onion – 1 small (finely chopped)

Eggs – 3 Large (lightly beaten)

Ginger/Garlic paste – 1 tsp (heaped)

Fresh Tomato paste – 1 cup

Green Chili – 1 medium sized

Oil – 4 tbsp

Cumin (whole) – 1 tsp (Roasted & crushed lightly in pestle mortar)

Coriander (whole) – 1 tsp (Roasted & crushed lightly in pestle mortar)

Whole dried chilies – 4 small or 2 large

Chili powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Fresh Coriander for Garnish

Method:

1. In a cooking pan (the pan should have a lid) heat the oil and add chopped onions, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and dried whole chilies.
2. As soon as the onions become translucent (do not brown the onions), add the small cubed potatoes.
3. Mix them on medium to high heat for 3-5 mins till a few sides of potatoes start becoming translucent.
4. Add tomato paste, ginger/garlic paste, salt, chili powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and green chilies. Mix it. Cover and cook for 2-3 mins on medium heat till the liquid from tomatoes has reduced.
5. Add the beaten eggs on top of the potatoes. Do not mix. Cover it for 25 mins and reduce the heat to low.
6. After 10-12 mins, remove the lid and mix the cooked egg thoroughly. Cover the pan again for 15 mins. The potatoes should be done in about that time. If the potatoes are not done after 25 minutes, let it cook further on very low heat till potatoes are done. Do not add any water.
7. Once cooked, remove from the heat. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve with chappati.