Madeeha Syed

It’s South Asia vs Middle East in this battle of the frittatas. Both are popular dishes in the region, the go-to for most households for a quick meal fix. And they both have similar flavour profiles which is why the shakshouka adapts beautifully to desi tastes

Khaagina vs Shakshouka

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Eggs are an organic source of daily nutrition and protein. And what’s better than a delicious egg frittata for breakfast. Choose your favorite!

Introduction

Are you looking for a quick and easy, nutrient-packed meal to whip up on the go? Look, no further. Here, we’ll talk about frittatas — ‘fried’ in Italian and Spanish, used for when scrambling different ingredients with eggs together and having them.&nbsp;This goes to show that frittatas are popular across most cultures around the world, but over here we talk about frittatas from two regions: South Asia and the Middle East. <div> </div>

Khaagina

<h4>Khaagina</h4>

There are many ways to make this popular Pakistani breakfast or quick lunch/dinner depending on the time of day you&rsquo;re making this. I remember this as my grandmother&rsquo;s go-to solution when she couldn&rsquo;t figure out what to make quickly and easily.&nbsp;

This desi-style scrambled eggs follow the ingredients and technique that provide the base for all desi cooking &ndash; onions, tomatoes, red chilli powder, touch turmeric [<a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/hold-on-to-that-haldi-the-desi-super-food-going-global">haldi</a>]. These five ingredients are used in most, if not all, desi meals and hence, they shall also be incorporated here.&nbsp;

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Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons of oil&nbsp;

1-2 tomatoes

3-4 eggs

1-2 medium onions, diced

Half a teaspoon of salt&nbsp;

Half teaspoon red chilli powder

2 medium green chillies&nbsp;

One fourth teaspoon turmeric powder&nbsp;

Correander for garnishing&nbsp;

Add the oil to a handi and add the diced onions, fry lightly until golden, do not fry them until they are brown. Add the tomatoes, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and let cook for a while until the ingredients are gelled in together. Whisk the eggs lightly with chopped green chillies and add to the handi.&nbsp;

Now, you will scramble all of the ingredients until the eggs are cooked properly. Plate the mixture and add chopped coriander on top for garnishing and serve with a side of crispy, hot parathas.

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Shakshouka

<h4>Shakshouka</h4> Much like the khaagina, this is an incredibly popular Arab, quick, go-to dish that’s made very frequently across different Arab countries. It’s surprisingly easily adaptable to desi tastes because the ingredients that form the base of a typical shakshouka are used quite often in desi cooking as well. The spin? The shakshouka’s crowning glory is its eggplant.&nbsp;Now, let’s begin. Ingredients1-2 tablespoons of oil&nbsp;1-2 tomatoes, diced&nbsp;1-2 medium onions, sliced1-2 medium eggplant [baingan] or 1 large eggplant, diced2-3 eggs1 teaspoon red chilli powderHalf a teaspoon of salt&nbsp;Ground pepper for tasteGround pepper for garnishing1 lemon for garnishing&nbsp;A handful of coriander for garnishing In a frying pan, add oil, fry the onions lightly. Add cubed or diced tomatoes, cook, cover the frying pan with a lid, let it simmer and then mash. You will be cooking the ingredients on low heat for a longer period of time, so don’t overcook.&nbsp; Add the diced eggplant, red chilli powder, salt, and sprinkle the pepper over it. Mix thoroughly and then cover the pan with a lid and let simmer on low heat for a few minutes until the eggplant is soft. It doesn’t have to be fully cooked, just enough.&nbsp; Add properly whisked eggs on top, covering the whole pan or you can make a hole in the middle of the mixture and add the eggs there. Cover with a lid immediately and steam cook the eggs.&nbsp; Once they are cooked, squeeze one lemon over the mix, evenly covering it. Garnish with coriander and serve. This goes really well with sourdough, thick pieces of bread and even parathas and rotis.&nbsp;<div> </div>