Sunday, February 24, 2008

"Royal" Burji...

...hits the spot in this lazy Sunday brunch. Burji is simply Indian-style scrambled eggs; "royal" because it contains a spice mix with a regal name.

It started when Bhags posted this simple dal called Bachelor tadka. She braved a "queue of shoes", smelly socks and mountains of unwashed clothes to fearlessly obtain this recipe for us, so the least I could do was give it a try. The other intriguing feature of this recipe was an ingredient called Kitchen King Masala. I started to think that this was some sort of brand name, but a little investigative work via Google revealed that it is actually a generic name for a particular blend of spices, and that several brands sell their versions of this Kitchen King masala. I wonder who came up this spice blend; the name "Kitchen King" suggests that it must be a fairly recent invention. In any case, I bought myself a packet of Kitchen King Masala (Badshah brand is what I found). Badshah (emperor) and Kitchen King! If that isn't a royal combination, I don't know what is :D

2008_44Simply put, Bhags' bachelor tadka rocks. In no time at all, it has climbed right to the top of the list of "Things That Practically Cook Themselves And Keep Me Sane On Weeknights". The whole dal gets made in the pressure cooker itself, and the combination of the ghee tadka and the masala results in the most appetizing aroma as the pressure cooker hisses and whistles madly. This recipe carries an unconditional guarantee that everyone in the home will stop by the kitchen and ask that coveted question: "What smells so good?"


I must be the last person on the planet to discover Kitchen King masala; people are busy using it in all kinds of simple and tasty dishes like potato curry, egg curry, veg pulao, masala masoor and okra-spinach curry. For despite its majestic name, the Kitchen King masala is best suited as a multipurpose masala that is best used for throwing together tasty and impromptu dishes for everyday meals for us commoners. Like this spicy burji that follows.

Egg Burji


2008_42
(serves 2-3)
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 tomatoes, chopped fine
2 t oil
1/2 t red chilli powder
1/2 t turmeric powder
1 heaped t Kitchen King masala
1 T ketchup
salt to taste
handful of minced cilantro
Beat together
4 eggs (could omit a yolk or two)
1 T milk
salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat the oil (medium heat) and saute onion until translucent.
2. Add red chilli powder, turmeric, KK masala and salt and saute for a few seconds.
3. Stir in tomato and ketchup and saute until the mixture is almost dry.
4. Lower heat to medium-low, then stir in the egg mixture. Gently cook the eggs, stirring once in a while, until they are barely set.
5. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

I served the burji with some whole-wheat tortillas for a satisfying brunch.
2008_43


*** *** ***

Musical uses her surprise Arusuvai ingredient in the most innovative way. Take a look for yourself!

*** *** ***

The stinker Thinker. Dale ponders the meaning of life...


...and a minute later, ponders the inside of his eyelids.


Have a great week!

57 comments:

  1. This dish looks great! I never used to eat any sort of egg masala dish until recently. I will definitely try this! :)

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  2. Hey, I have tried that dal as well and its great! I then tried it with yellow moong dal which also tastes good! :)

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  3. The royal egg bhurji sounds great! Egg bhurji is often a last minute life-saver meal in our house. (Yes, I am a lazy cook) I discovered Kitchen king masala recently too, and love the new taste it adds to our regular dishes.

    Ahhh Dale, he does live a wonderful life! note to self: adopt Dale's approach to life, and things will be much easier.

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  4. Aawwwwwwwwwwwww... ain't Dale the CUTEST!!!!!!! I like ALL ur posts, but my FAVS are the ons with Dale in 'em!!!

    That dal is a must try now!!!

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  5. wow! i had forgotten the burji dish! The Dish!! thanks for reminding me, nupur :)

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  6. Hi Nupur!!!!!!
    we call this as egg poriyal!! and we use green chillies too!!!! this dish looks yummy!!!!!

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  7. I am on the same boat. Never heard of Kitchen King Masala. Thanks for the info, Nupur.

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  8. you know what i love coming back to you for Dale...I love pets, n I miss keeping one coz nobody's back home to take cre of them when we go work....its the saddest part of my life, blv me...Dale reminds me of my adorable darling Silky who I lost some years before, but can still smell her sometimes, n feel her soft fur below my palms....oh how I miss her..

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  9. Hi Nupur,

    The colour of your burji is so vivid....i want to eat it right now!! I also want to hug your Dale..the thinker!! ;-)

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  10. The scrambled eggs look good - and great idea to serve them with the tortilla...

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  11. Nupur, the burji does look royal indeed...as for KKM, don't worry,there's someone behind you as well :-)...and I love the pondering Dale...he's such a dear :-)

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  12. I too thought KK was the name of the brand.:-)

    The burji has such a lovely color and I love the way you have presented it, Nupur.

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  13. I have used kitchen king masala long ago, but I never knew it was a type of masala!!!. Looks like I had a habit of adding anything that comes to my hands without thinking what exactly it is :D. Thats the reason my dishes never tasted the same when I cooked them more than once. Huh...
    Now I remember the ad from TV...."kitchen king ho ya degi mirach...MDH MDH...".
    That egg burji looks so exotic...

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  14. Thankx for reminding me of this dish. When i was at home mom used to make them. And it ages ago i ate them. Will make them soon.

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  15. Nups, even i didn't hear about this kitchen king masala but after looking at the dish I know my weekday simple meals will be amazing!!!
    Thank u so much dear

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  16. How royal! The Kitchen King Masala is really good to liven up plain daals! Oh, and i love the term "bachelor tadka" :-D. You are not the only one, girl! I have always used my own recipe for masala and it was only recently that i bought the Kitchen King and Tava fry masalas, they were quite good :).

    Hey, don't be so harsh on Dale :-D. Very thoughtful, this cutie :).

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  17. Nupur, I exhausted MDH ka kkm few months ago thinking it was some curry masala ! :D now ur write-up clears it! I m lined up to try this recipe! Pics loks great! Dale must hv read the first comment n closed his eyes to shut the comment out of his system..:) he's damn cuteeeee!

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  18. That's a delicious looking dish -- and with a new spice blend to explore! Kitchen King Masala -- who knew??

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  19. What a sweetheart! Makes me want a dog of my own to snuggle with.

    The eggs look good, too!

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  20. You're not the last Nupur! I'm still here and so are some others i see :-) I have not heard of Kitchen King masala at all!
    The dal sure does sound inviting - what with being so simple! And the burji looks really delicious!

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  21. Oh Nupur,

    Infact, your late realisation about KKM has created & increased KKM awareness manifold amongst your blog readers ;)
    By the way- After reading your blog, i just bought Baadshah KKM today ! ha ha ...

    about Dale... I always look forward for his pictures ... !

    Leena.

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  22. Kitchen King is like the magic masala, makes everything taste better ;) Love the colour on the burji, can imagine how good it must have been.

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  23. Isn't that the yummiest dal from Bhags? Egg burji looks like a beautiful flower center in tortilla bowl petals :)

    Y'all and sweetiepie Dale have a great week too! :)

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  24. I have been seeing Kitchen King masala on the supermarket shelves for so long but have never been tempted to try it out!
    And Dale looks so beautiful.

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  25. Kalai, it is quite a tasty dish, and whips up in no time at all.

    Coffee, yes, that dal is so simple and tasty...always good to have such recipes at hand :) I should try it with yellow moong dal for a change too!

    Namita, yup, Dale is a peaceful, chilled-out soul most of the time; he does have his "diva" moments and I should write about them sometime :D

    Manasi, you have *got* to try this dal; it is perfect for busy times. Dale says hello :)

    Nags, yes, The Dish it is :)

    Usha, green chillies would be so tasty here!

    Suganya, this KK masala is no gourmet ingredient, but great to have on hand for quick meals.

    Shella, I'm sorry about your beloved Silky! Your comment brought a tear to my eye; pets do capture a very special place in our heart with their unconditional love.

    Suma, Dale is curled in a tight ball on the futon :) he says he would love to give you a hug right back! The burji takes mere minutes to make...give it a try :)

    Miri, yes, I love any kind of bread with the burji and was too lazy to make rotis :D

    Sunita, thanks :) yes, Dale is a dear little thing (most of the time, anyway!)

    TBC, glad you like it, my dear!

    Shilpa, LOL yes, I still have that habit; for impromptu dishes, I just add whatever is at hand. Hey, now that you "sang" that jingle, I remember it too :D I loved ads in India much more than I enjoyed the actual programming!

    Happy Cook, yes, this dish is a good choice for quick meals :)

    Padmaja, we both have to thank Bhags :) and the other bloggers who keep introducing me to new ingredients!

    Musical, hey the tava fry masala sounds quite delicious too! I do enjoy using homemade masalas but some of the branded ones do a good job too, na? Especially for throwing things together in a hurry as I seem to be doing more and more these days.

    Purnima, well, it *is* a curry masala, I guess. Pretty multi-purpose. Dale says he wants to leave philosophy to us silly humans; he is off to take a nap.

    Lydia, I think I will never run out of spice blends to explore! Keeps life (and meals) interesting :)

    Karen, feel free to borrow him whenever you like :D How are you doing?!

    Latha, you have got to try that dal; it is so simple and tasty!

    Leena, well, I hope you enjoy the KKM masala :) Let us know what your favorite use of it is!

    Namratha, it sure does :) I have been dumping it in quite a few things in a pretty non-discriminating way :D

    Linda, well, it is your toor dal JFI that brought Bhags' dal to life :) so I owe you one! Yup the tortilla flower was fun to eat. Any gimmick to brighten up these dreary winter days LOL

    Aparna, Dale says thanks :)

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  26. amma used KKM since i was in my petticoat;) IMO, it gives restaurent taste to any dish and i use it along with garam masala. my fav is Everest KKM.

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  27. Hi there, for the Egg Burji, can you use regular masala found in most Indian Grocers? Or is Kitchen King masala the better one to use?

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  28. I've never heard of this spice blend before, but clearly I am missing out! Your Egg Burji is gorgeous! Now, I must get something to eat!

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  29. :( ...i left a comment here yesterday wondering who was happ ier to have found whom....dale or you!! disappeared!!

    anyways!! i have an award and a tag for you....do pick it up!!

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  30. Royal Bhurji:) the name itself sounds princely, just like the ingredients with the kitchen "king" masala:) nice one Nupur!

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  31. Kitchen king Masala - I am going to be on the look out for it. Thanks Nupur for telling us all about such a masala....all bloggers are on hunt for it i am sure :-) Bhurji looks great.. we make it week nights or rather lazy nights for dinner!

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  32. Sia, you are so right- it is that typical restaurant taste! Will watch out for Everest KKM (they did not have it in my local store).

    ID crisis, this is an extremely flexible recipe; feel free to use any masala that you like.

    Lisa, if you occasionally crave that characteristics Indian restaurant fare, this masala blend is a good one to try.

    Arundati, oh dear, sorry about the vanishing comment! It seems to happen from time to time without any apparent reason :(
    Well, I guess Dale and we both have reason to be happy that life brought us together! :)

    Mansi, glad you like it!

    Seema, yup, this is definitely a lazy night dinner at our place too :)

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  33. Nupur, the color of your dish is so beautiful!

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  34. hi Nupur,
    am not a blogger as such..i came to 'one hot stove' while searching for the recipe of ragda patties..n am so happy i did..n now (daily!) i make it a point to go thru all the recipes u've posted here since 2005..i especially liked 'shopping local in kolhapur'..thanks for sharing those wonderful+innocent fotos..

    Geetha.

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  35. The eggs in this recipe cud be substituted with cottage cheese(paneer)and one cud omit ketchup and add on kasuri methi(dried fenugreek leaves along with kitchen king and some butter or fresh cream,and that wud give u a most simple and amazing paneer burji
    Regarding "kitchen king",u can easily enhance taste of any gravy based veg or non veg dish by using this magical spice

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  36. wow..the kitchen king masala does make the bhurji look like ive never seen it before!! has go a wonderful color to it!

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  37. Bhurji looks awesome Nupur and I have been meaning to buy the KK masala too. One of my friend mentioned how good it is.

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  38. The bhurjee looks awesome, perfect brunch on a lazy morning...
    never thought of using KK masala in Egg bhurjee before, a new addition in the KK use list

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  39. Mmmmm....the bhurji looks yummy.You know when I initially started cooking I used to put KK masala in all the dry vegetables and even in bhurji.Ofcourse now I put it in only a few vegetables.You brought back fond memories :)

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  40. The color of your dish is so beautiful...

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  41. G'day from an Indian-born-and-educated Aussie,

    I'm just about to make this for my son who (just as I was in my teenage years) is always hungry!!

    Came here from Meg Wolff's blog.

    Cheers and enjoy your weekend.

    Keep smiling

    David

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  42. Your posts are always like having a face to face chat; and that's a very good thing.

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  43. Hey Nupur,

    I am neelam staying in singapore.ur recipes are very helpful specially when i get guests at home.thanks for ur vaangi-bhaat recipes..i wud suggest u to make the photo of the final presentation of the food still more attractive.always keep sending such great recipes . Neelam

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  44. Nupur,

    I am glad you re a big fan of Kitchen King Masala as well. That stuff is fairly spicy. Looking forward to reading more KKM featured recipe from you.

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  45. Now I should go out and buy this Kitchen King Masala.
    It made me so happy to see Dale looking so calm and at peace - after all he has been through, it's nice that his life has a "happily ever after"!
    Kamini

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  46. have been checking out your blog for sometime and really love your yummy recipes and your lively and unique presentation style. Adding you to my fav blogs list.
    Do keep the lovely recipes flowing. Gr8 work

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  47. egg burji is my favorite egg snack:) liked the pic, all your blog pics just look great :)

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  48. I'm with you Nupur... just discovered Kitchen King last month or so... and we're loving it.

    Nice burji... the colour is beautiful

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  49. WOW, Kitchen King masala is ON MY LIST- thank you, I have never tried it, and am anxious to try this scrumptuous looking dish. Cheers!

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  50. Hey Nupur,
    no noise from one hot stove recently !! busy :) just checking.. was sort of missing my favorite blog :) take care.. Abhi

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  51. Hi Abhi, it is very nice of you to enquire :) Yes, life has just been a little crazy. Hoping to start posting again very soon :) so stay tuned.

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  52. nupur
    lovely post and pictures are good...you write as if we are sitting together and discussing, very personal.I liked the word royal for burji.

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  53. i am first time at your place.. you have a wonderful blog here:)
    your burgi looks so colorful .....

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  54. Hey.... hows you doing Nupur? Got busy with work? I hope all's fine. :)

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  55. Nupur, Hope all is well with you - it has been a long silence from you. Do take care of yourself.
    Kamini

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  56. Hi Nupur,

    I've had your egg burji recipe on my "to-cook" list for a few weeks now, as it looked like a quick and tasty meal idea. I finally bought the KK masala a few days back and tried the recipe out last night. It was delicious!! We added a few chopped green chillies and some diced green peppers and had it with chapati. It was a welcome change from the omelette-routine we've been stuck in! Thanks!!

    -amanda

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