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.

Khageena

An associate from my former university who is currently working on his PhD thesis on Pakistan asked me if I could share a simple and basic recipe from Pakistani kitchen that he could try. As I sat and thought about it, it took me a while to come up with it. This was the first thing I learnt to cook as a 13 year old. Nothing fancy!  Just the Pakistani version of spiced scrambled eggs that is eaten with homemade chappati or toasted bread. It’s called Khageena. 

Ammi would cook this for a quick lunch or dinner when her fridge would be empty of the groceries or we had just returned from a long journey. It takes about 15 mins to prepare and is delicious. This one is for you Captain Kirk.

Ingredients:

Eggs – 4

Oil – 3 Tbsp

Onions – 1 Large (finally chopped)

Potato – 1 small or ½ medium sized (finally chopped in small pieces)

Tomatoes – 2 Medium (finally chopped)

Green Chilies – 2 medium

Cumin – ½ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp (adjust as per taste)

Chili powder – ½ tsp

Cumin Powder – ½ tsp

Fresh Coriander for garnish (chopped) – a handful

Method:

1. Break the eggs in a bowl and beat them lightly. Keep aside.
2. In a frying pan heat the oil and add chopped onions and potatoes. Fry for 7-8 mins till the onions are translucent and potatoes are almost done.  
3. Add Cumin and tomatoes. Be careful as the tomatoes will splash. Add around ¼ cup of water to it. This will help the tomatoes to breakdown. .
4. Add green chilies, salt, chili powder and cumin powder to the mixture and wait for the water to dry.
5. As soon as the water is gone, add eggs and mix. Cook the eggs and keep mixing till the eggs are done and the mixture resembles minced meat.
6. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Remove from the heat and serve with roti or bread.