Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Anda Bhurji
Anda Bhurji (Spicy Scrambled Eggs)

Anda Bhurji

Spicy Scrambled Eggs
Non-vegetarian

Anda bhurji is a soft, spicy scramble of eggs cooked with onions, tomatoes and a warm ground spice mix. It tastes savoury and lightly tangy, with heat from green chilli and lemon.

Ground spices for the onion base

3.2 gStirred into the pan after the green chilli (step 4)
01
1.5 g½ teaspoon
spice
03
1.1 g½ teaspoon
spice
Keep ground and mix together; add them in one go.

Everything else

01
200 g4 eggs
egg
02
27 g2 tablespoons
oil/fat
03
Onion · Pyazfinely chopped
300 g2 onions
vegetable
04
3 g2 chillies
vegetable
05
Tomato · Tamatarfinely chopped
240 g2 tomatoes
vegetable
06
to taste
salt
07
3 g2 tablespoons
herb
08
10 g2 teaspoons
souring agent

Method

  1. Beat 200 g egg with a pinch of salt in a bowl until lightly mixed.
  2. Set a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and add 27 g vegetable oil. When hot, add 300 g onion, finely chopped, and cook for 6 minutes, until soft.
  3. Add 4 g green bird’s eye chilli, chopped, and cook for 1 minute more.
  4. Stir in the masala — 1.5 g ground turmeric, 0.6 g kashmiri chilli powder and 1.1 g cumin seed, ground — and fry for 30 seconds.
  5. Add 240 g tomato, finely chopped, and salt to taste. Cook for 4 minutes, until starting to soften.
  6. Tip the beaten egg into the pan and leave undisturbed for 30 seconds. Stir and cook for 2–3 minutes, until just set in soft curds.
  7. Scatter over 3 g coriander leaves, finely chopped, and squeeze over 10.2 g lemon juice.

Don't have something?

Egg
  • Chickpea flour

    For binding, use about 10 g chickpea flour mixed with 20 ml water per egg and rest for 10 minutes. Denser and nuttier; not suitable for baking or coating in the same way.

  • Full-fat natural yoghurt

    Use about 30 g per egg for moisture and binding in koftas or fillings. Adds tang and softness; will not set or glaze like egg.

  • Tofu

    Use the same weight, mashed, for egg-like bulk in curries. Soft and bland; add extra spices and do not expect it to bind.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Onion
  • Shallot

    Use equal weight, finely sliced. Shallots soften and brown faster, giving a slightly sweeter and more delicate base to curries.

  • Cabbage

    Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.

Green bird's eye chilli
  • Bird's eye green chilli

    Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.

  • Green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.

  • Fresh green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika
  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use the same weight; this is the first half of the book's option and gives the best red colour with mild heat.

  • Mild paprika

    Use the same weight; add a pinch of cayenne pepper for warmth. Slightly less colour.

  • Paprika

    Use the same weight and add cayenne pepper to taste; works but is less aromatic.

Cumin seed
  • Ground cumin

    Use 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Tomato
  • Tomato purée

    Use 40% to 50% of the fresh tomato weight mixed with a splash of water. Imparts a deeper red colour, thicker sauce, and slightly sweeter cooked flavour.

  • Plain yogurt

    Use 60% of the weight, whisked smooth and added on low heat. Provides rich body and sourness, though the gravy becomes paler and creamier.

Coriander leaves
  • Coriander (cilantro) or basil

    Use the same weight, choosing the coriander element if available. If only basil is available, expect a sweeter, more aniseed flavour.

  • Basil leaves

    Use the same weight. Basil is sweeter and more aromatic in a different way; add near the end so it keeps its perfume.

  • Coriander paste

    Use 1.5 times the weight and reduce other liquid slightly; it is less fresh and more concentrated, so taste before adding more.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

Similar dishes

Masala Omelettes
Masala Omelettes is savoury and juicy with warm cumin and chilli heat and a lemon finish, while this dish is a soft, spicy scramble that is lightly tangy.
  • Same: Masala Omelettes shares eggs, onion, tomato, cumin seed, green bird’s eye chilli, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander leaves, lemon juice, vegetable oil and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Masala Omelettes uses more cumin seed and less onion, tomato and lemon juice than this dish, and it is cooked as an omelette with a lightly crisp edge rather than as a soft scramble.
Andhra Egg Curry
Andhra Egg Curry tastes tangy from tamarind and rich from coconut milk, with curry-leaf aroma and gentle heat, while this dish tastes savoury and lightly tangy from lemon with direct green-chilli heat.
  • Same: Andhra Egg Curry shares eggs, onion, tomato, vegetable oil, green bird’s eye chilli, turmeric, kashmiri chilli powder, coriander leaves and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Andhra Egg Curry uses halved hard-boiled eggs simmered in gravy, while this dish is a soft scramble; it adds mustard seed, cassia bark, ginger, ground coriander, tamarind paste, curry leaf and coconut milk, and it lacks this dish’s cumin seed and lemon juice.
Khageena
Savoury Scrambled Eggs
Khageena is hotter from the larger green chilli quantity, richer from butter or ghee, more herbal from coriander, and less tangy because it has no lemon juice.
  • Same: Khageena shares eggs, onion, tomato, turmeric, chilli powder, vegetable oil, coriander and salt with this dish, and it is also a soft scrambled egg dish.
  • Different: Khageena uses 300 g egg versus 200 g here, has far more green chilli and coriander, adds ginger paste, garlic paste and butter or ghee, lacks cumin seed and lemon juice, and includes handkerchief roti.
Saas ni Macchi
Fish in Creamy Garlic Sauce
Saas ni Macchi tastes creamier, richer and more sharply sweet-sour from vinegar and sugar, with milder chilli heat than this dish’s savoury lemon-tangy scramble.
  • Same: Saas ni Macchi shares vegetable oil, cumin seed, onion, green bird’s eye chilli, tomato and coriander leaves with this dish, and both use egg.
  • Different: Saas ni Macchi adds white fish, garlic, butter, plain flour, malt vinegar, caster sugar and cherry tomato, while this dish has turmeric, kashmiri chilli powder and lemon juice and uses egg as the main scrambled ingredient.