Frittata Masala

We were all in the mood for something substantial this morning.  This spicy egg, potato and red pepper cake fits the bill.

It takes about forty-five minutes to prepare, and serves four to six. We have leftovers to last a while.  Because Beautiful Granddaughter was in attendance, I didn’t add extra heat.  The commercial masala powder packs enough punch for her, but normally I’d also add a finely diced Thai chili or two.

1 tablespoon ghee

dried methi and commercial masala powder

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon cumin seed

½ teaspoon mustard seed

1 small red onion, diced small

1 finger fresh ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks

3 small potatoes, diced small

1 tablespoon commercial masala powder

1 tablespoon dried methi (fenugreek leaves) 

1 sweet red pepper, diced small

1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)

6 eggs, beaten

¼ cup milk

Use your largest shallow pan to heat the ghee and oil on ‘high’.  Drop in the cumin and mustard seed, and let sizzle.  When the mustard turns greyish white, within a few seconds, add the onion and ginger, stirring, and reduce heat to medium.  Cook the onions till they become translucent and a bit golden, then add the potatoes.  Be sure they’re diced as small as possible so they cook fairly quickly.  Let them get golden, and stir from time to time to get them equally browned. 

Dice veg small so they cook faster.

Add the masala powder and dried methi, stir, then cover well.  For some reason I am unable to make a masala from scratch for breakfast or lunch.  It seems like too gluttonous or precious a task, somehow.  So I keep some on hand at all times.  Experiment around by making your own in larger quantities, or just try the various flavours that come in small boxes. 

  

Meanwhile, dice the red pepper.  The potatoes have to cook through till they’re soft in the middle.  Check on them often, and stir with a spatula to make sure they’re getting evenly cooked.  Once the potatoes are soft enough to eat, add the red pepper, stirring well.  Let cook while you prepare the egg mixture in a separate bowl.  The peppers don’t have to cook long, just enough to heat them through and soften a little bit, maybe five minutes.  This is a good time to add salt, as you can taste the potato mixture safely.  

Tilt pan to distribute egg mix evenly.

Add the egg and milk mixture.  Don’t stir!  Instead, tilt the pan to evenly distribute the mix.  Cover, and start making toast.  Peek from time to time to see if eggs have cooked.  They’ll be opaque and set when ready, probably in ten minutes.

Serve in wedges, along with toast.  I had lemon and rose petal marmalade on mine, with good strong coffee. 

Oh deliciousness.  We’ll eat the rest before setting off for tomorrow’s trip to Banff, Alberta.  More on that to come.  I’ve never ridden a gondola before-- pray for me!

Beautiful Granddaughter's breakfast!