London restaurant recipes - Kricket's Egg Bhurji With Berkswell & Shallots

Catherine Hanly 18 February 2021

Kricket's bhurji eggs

If you're after a book that looks so good you want to lick the pages, then Kricket - an Indian-inspired cookbook is the one for you. Photographer Hugh Johnson picked up a Fortnum & Mason award for Best Photography for the gorgeous images in this book by Kricket's co-founder Will Bowlby. As for the content, there are Kricket faves like the Crab Scotch Egg with Moilee Sauce and the spicy Goan Sausage Roll.

To give you a taste of the book, we've pulled out the following recipe for you to try:

Egg Bhurji With Berkswell & Shallots

Kricket's Will Bowlby writes:

"This dish was created almost by accident after we started making staff breakfast meals in our Soho restaurant. The first time I ate Indian scrambled eggs (or ‘egg bhurji’ in Mumbai) I remember thinking how superior it was to how we eat them at home – I found the Indian spices far more exciting. I have created my own version for you to try, but have stuck to the traditional way of preparing the eggs, using lots of butter, and cooking over a low heat, to retain that melt-in-the-mouth texture. With the lardo (cured pig fat), melting over the hot eggs, topped with salty Berkswell sheep’s cheese and sweet and sour shallots, this is the perfect balance of flavours. If you can’t get Berkswell, you can use Parmesan, Pecorino, aged Cheddar, Comté or Gruyére. Leave out the lardo if you’re vegetarian – the result is still delicious!"

Serves 6

Ingredients

12 local, large free-range brown eggs
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped 200 g (7 oz/scant 1 cup) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 handful of fresh curry leaves
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 slices of sourdough bread
12 slices of lardo
400 g (14 oz) Berkswell cheese, finely grated sea salt, to taste
micro coriander (cilantro), to garnish (optional)

For the pickled shallots:

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) banana shallots, thinly sliced into rings
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) white wine vinegar
500 g (1 lb 2 oz/2 cups) caster (superfine) sugar
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
2 fresh bay leaves

NB: This recipe makes more pickled shallots than required for 4 people but it is well-worth making up a batch for you to use as you like! Just store in a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge. It will keep for a few months.

Method

To make the pickling liquor, put all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat and stir occasionally until all the sugar dissolves.
To make the pickled shallots, steep the shallots in the pickling liquor for 1–2 hours at room temperature, then keep in the refrigerator until needed.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the red onion, green chillies and coriander.
Reserve a little of the butter for the toast and melt the remainder gently in a frying pan (skillet). Add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and turmeric and cook over a medium heat for 30 seconds or so, stirring, until the spices are fragrant.
Add the egg mixture, reduce the heat and cook very gently, stirring continuously with a spatula or a wooden spoon, for about 3–4 minutes until the eggs are just cooked but still soft. Season to taste with salt and remove from the heat.
Toast the sourdough bread and spread with the reserved butter. Spoon the egg mixture on the toast, top with a slice of lardo, a sprinkle of grated cheese, a few slices of the pickled shallots and garnish with micro coriander leaves (if using).

Photo: Hugh Johnson

Kricket - an Indian-inspired cookbook

Will Bowlby - photography by Hugh Johnson

The Kricket cookbook shares over 80 mouth-watering recipes, combining the essential spicing of Indian food with modern, seasonal ingredients. Drawing on inspiration from all over India – Goa, Bombay, Hyderabad – Will reinvents this classic and historic cuisine into accessible and elegant meals that are perfect for sharing with friends and family.

Kricket - an Indian-inspired cookbook is available from Bookshop.