Mexican Scrambled eggs

there are few things as magnificent as scrambled eggs, pure and simple, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned.– James Beard

… and when perfectly cooked and seasoned scrambled eggs are on a bed of crispy tortillas and crunchy vegetables, they make a complete meal. This Mexican scrambled eggs dish is a staple Sunday brunch at our home.

This recipe is inspired from Nigella Lawson’s Mexican scrambled egg recipe in her cookbook Nigella Express. When I read the recipe, I thought what a perfect way to redress leftover chapatis or paranthas. Chapatis are Indian flat breads, quite a lot like tortillas. The first time I made these, I followed her recipe. It called for cooking everything together, which made a soft, mushy scrambled eggs. I wanted to taste all the textures — soft scrambled eggs, crunchy vegetables and crispy chapati/tortillas and so I figured some modifications.

Green capsicums, white eggs and red onions – the colours of the dish also mirror the Mexican flag.

By Ashima Goyal Siraj
Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 10 mins | Serves: 2

2 leftover chapatis/ plain parantha/ tortilla
1 green capsicum, cut into strips
1 red chilli, chopped
1 red onion, cut into strips
3 large eggs, whisked
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Red chilli flakes to taste
Coarse black pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped fresh chives
3 tbsp oil

Cut the chapati (or paratha or tortilla) into this strips. Just roll them up and cut with your kitchen scissors.
Heat one tbsp oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the chapati strips into hot oil.Fry the strips for a few minutes until they are crisp. Remove into a serving platter.

I keep the platter into a oven with keep warm setting (50ºC) so that the chapati strips stay warm and crispy.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil more. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. When the seeds start to crackle, add the chopped chillies, onions and capsicum. Season with salt. Sauté the vegetables for a few minutes till the capsicum just starts to soften.

you can add more vegetables of your choice. Red and yellow capsicums, tomatoes and spring onions also go very well with the recipe. If you are using tomatoes, deseed them and add them a little after the onions and capsicums

Remove the vegetables on top of the crispy chapati bed and return to oven to keep warm.
Last, add one more tbsp oil to same hot oily pan to prepare your perfect plain scrambled eggs. Add the whisked eggs and salt and pepper to the oil. Scramble and move the eggs around the pan till they are cooked to your liking. I like them cooked well and dry.
Add the scrambled eggs to the top of your vegetable and crispy chapati bed. Sprinkle some red chilli flakes and fresh chives.
Serve hot.