A cooking course last Saturday at the Bertinet Kitchen with Monisha Bharadwaj has given me lots of new ideas and tips. The course was entitled Indian Street Food and complemented a course I had done with Monisha several years ago.

Several of the key ingredients for the dishes she prepared are not available in normal supermarkets but I have enjoyed browsing Red Rickshaw’s website and will place my first order with them by tomorrow.

One meal that can be prepared from what is already in the fridge is an Indian omelette. In truth, Monisha made scrambled eggs but, either way, it is delicious and just right for a quick meal on a Monday evening. I made one large omelette but the ingredients could be split to make two or three smaller ones.

One tip Monisha gave was on how to prepare chillies. Holding the stalk and using a sharp knife, cut down the middle of the flesh lengthwise and then cut the halves off below the stem. There is never a need to remove the seeds. Again, using a very sharp knife or chopper, just chop the chilli halves to the fineness required.

Ande ki Bhurji (Indian eggs)

6 large eggs
2 tbsp sunflower oil
½ tsp cumin seeds, coarsely ground
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt
Small handful coriander leaves, chopped

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions and chillies until soft. Stir in the cumin seeds and, after a minute, add the tomatoes and then most of the coriander leaves. .

Cook for a few minutes for the tomatoes to soften and give off moisture. Beat the eggs in a basin with a pinch of salt and a few drops of water. If you are confident that your pan is non stick, just add the eggs to the pan and cook the omelette in the usual way. Otherwise, scrape the contents of the pan into a bowl, wash the frying pan, return it to the heat with a little oil before adding the eggs and filling.

Remove from the pan, scatter over the rest of the coriander leaves and serve with very fresh bread.