Quick & Easy Egg Fried Rice Recipe | Serves 3

Indian Style Egg Fried Rice

Most egg fried rice recipes begin with a wok and a bottle of soy sauce. This egg fried rice recipe begins with mustard seeds sizzling in a kadai, which is true of at least half the recipes in a typical Tamil kitchen.

I made this one evening for three of us with whatever was at home: some cabbage, a carrot, a few beans, a capsicum and eggs. It turned out somewhere between fried rice and masala rice, and nobody at the table complained.

Why this egg fried rice works on a busy evening

This egg fried rice doesn’t need any special sauces or a trip to the shop. Everything in it is usually already in the kitchen, and it uses up cooked rice that would otherwise sit in the fridge. The tempering of mustard and curry leaves gives it a familiar home taste, while the eggs make it filling enough to serve as a full dinner. It’s also forgiving. If you don’t have beans or capsicum, you can leave them out and the egg fried rice will still turn out well.

Why There’s No Soy Sauce Here

People ask this every time. Soy sauce gives fried rice that dark colour and salty, restaurant flavour, but it also takes over everything else in the pan. Here, the coriander powder and that tiny bit of chicken masala do the work instead. The rice stays light in colour, the vegetables actually taste like vegetables, and it sits comfortably next to a regular South Indian meal. If you really miss the restaurant version, a teaspoon of soy sauce added along with the masala won’t hurt. Just cut back on the salt if you do.

Serves: 3
Time: 35 minutes, including chopping

Ingredients required for Egg Fried Rice

Vegetables

• Cabbage, finely shredded: 1 cup
• Carrot: 1 medium, sliced into thin strips
• Beans: 10 to 12, chopped fine
• Capsicum: 1 medium, sliced thin
• Onions: 2 medium, sliced
• Green chillies: 2 to 3, slit

Paste for the dish

• Ginger: 1 inch
• Garlic: 6-8 cloves

Masala & tempering

• Oil: 3 tablespoons
• Mustard seeds: half a teaspoon
• Curry leaves: 1 sprig
• Chilli powder: half a teaspoon
• Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon
• Chicken masala: a quarter teaspoon
• Salt: 1 teaspoon in all, gradually

Rice and eggs

• Cooked rice: 4 cups (approximately one and a half cups before cooking)
• Eggs: 3

Step 1: 

1. Cabbage, carrot, beans, and capsicum should be chopped and put in one bowl.
2. Onions should be sliced and the green chillies should be slit.
3. The ginger and garlic should be ground into a thick paste.
4. If the rice is freshly cooked, it should be spread on a plate to cool since hot rice becomes mushy when cooked with other ingredients.

Step 2:

1. Heat the oil in kadai over medium heat.
2. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.
3. Add curry leaves and onions.
4. Fry the onions for 3 to 4 minutes until they become soft. Add some salt and fry for 1 or 2 more minutes until the edges become slightly golden brown.
5. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until the raw smell vanishes.
6. Add the green chillies.

Step 3:

1. Add the bowl containing chopped vegetables. Add some salt and sauté them for 4-5 minutes at slightly medium-high heat. Some crunch must be maintained in them.
2. Reduce the flame, add the chilli powder, coriander powder, and chicken masala.
3. Stir everything and sauté for about 1-2 minutes. In case of burning of the food stuff, add a spoon full of water in it.
4. Now, crack three eggs in another bowl or pan and beat them properly with some salt added in it.

Step 4:

1. Now combine the rice in the masala and mix it delicately for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is evenly coated. If necessary, season with salt.

   

2. Pour the eggs over the rice and begin stirring immediately.
3. Stir continuously at medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the egg is cooked and evenly distributed.
4. Turn off the heat and serve hot.

Few points to remember:

• The salt is added four times; hence it is important to ensure that each amount added is kept low. Tasting of the rice should be done before you add the eggs.
• Make use of the cold rice and then fold instead of pressing the rice together.
• One fourth teaspoon chicken masala is enough since the more that you will use, the more it will start tasting like a gravy.
• Extra spiciness can be achieved through adding an extra green chilli rather than adding chilli powder.
• Stirring needs to be continued once the eggs are added otherwise they will form a lump.

If You’re Missing Something

• No capsicum? Skip it. Some green peas or a handful of sweet corn work just as well.
• No eggs? Crumble some paneer and add it at the same stage. Cook it for just two minutes so it stays soft.
• Have leftover chicken from lunch? Shred it and add it with the vegetables. That turns this into a proper chicken egg fried rice.
• Rice-wise, regular ponni rice from home works fine. Basmati gives you longer, more separate grains, but you don’t need to buy it just for this.

Looking for spicy side dish to pair with your meals? Check out our Tomato thokku recipe

Looking for a healthy snack? Check out our Masala Makhana recipe