Akuri – Parsi Style Egg Recipe for Breakfast
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Akuri recipe is what I make when four eggs have to feed two of us properly. It is the Parsi way with scrambled eggs: onion, tomato, ginger and green chili cooked down first, then the eggs stirred in low and slow until they are creamy and only just set. Fifteen minutes, one pan, no cream. I have made it for breakfast, and just as often for dinner with buttered toast and a cup of tea.
Why This Recipe Works
- Nine everyday ingredients. Eggs, onion, tomato, ginger, green chili, turmeric, red chili powder, salt and oil. Nothing to hunt for.
- 15 minutes, one skillet. Eight minutes of chopping, seven at the stove.
- 13 g of protein per serving, with no cream and no cheese.
- Creamy from technique, not fat. Low heat and steady stirring keep this akuri recipe loose and custardy instead of dry.
Full quantities are in the recipe card. These are the ones worth a word.
- Eggs. Large, four for two people, and the freshest you have.
- Ginger. Fresh and finely chopped, not paste; chopped ginger gives little hot bites through the eggs.
- Green chili. One serrano gives medium heat; a jalapeño is milder, a Thai chili hotter, so use half.
- Red chili powder. Indian red chili powder or cayenne, not the American chili powder blend with cumin and oregano. Kashmiri chili powder gives the color with less heat; Patel Brothers or Amazon carry it. I’ve used crushed red pepper flakes in a pinch.
- Tomato. One Roma, chopped small so it breaks down in three minutes.
- Equipment. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A nonstick or ceramic skillet keeps the eggs loose; I like the Caraway ceramic nonstick set. A thin silicone spatula scrapes the sides without tearing the curds.
How to Make Akuri
1. Whisk the eggs. Break four eggs into a bowl with salt and a pinch of red chili powder, and whisk until no streaks of white remain. Set aside while the base cooks.
2. Soften the onion. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the chopped onion for two to three minutes, until it turns translucent and just pink at the edges. Add the ginger, green chili and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds.
3. Cook down the tomato. Add the tomato, cover, and cook until it collapses into a soft pulp, about three minutes. This keeps the eggs from tasting watery.
4. Stir in the eggs on low. Turn the heat to low, pour in the eggs and let them sit for a minute. Then stir steadily, scraping the sides and bottom so no layer sets hard. It is the same low-heat rule as my fluffy scrambled eggs.
5. Stop early. When the eggs are thick, glossy and still loose, pull the pan off the heat. They finish in the pan. Top with cilantro and a little more green chili.
Rekha’s Note
Akuri is done about thirty seconds before it looks done. The eggs keep cooking in the hot pan, so the moment they turn glossy and creamy, off the heat they go. Firm, dry akuri is the one mistake everybody makes once.
Nutrition-wise it is a breakfast I am happy with: 13 g of protein a serving, fiber and vitamin C from the onion and tomato, and no cream needed.
Rekha
Akuri Recipe | Parsi Style Scrambled Eggs
Ingredients
- 4 whole eggs organic
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon ginger chopped
- 1 teaspoon green chilli chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1 chopped tomato
Instructions
- Akuri Recipe (Parsi Style Scrambled Eggs) !
- For making Akuri Recipe, Break all the eggs into a mixing bowl, add salt, a pinch of red chilli powder/flakes and whisk it.
- Heat up a pan, pour 1 Tbsp oil in the pan or a mix of butter and oil. Add chopped onion and saute them till slightly pink. and add chopped ginger, chopped green chilies and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
- Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are slightly pulpy and add whisked and seasoned eggs.
- Allow it cook for a minute, and gently start scraping the sides of the pan, Mix well once again and check for the consistency. It should be semi-soft or liquidy and not the firm.
- Garnish with some more green chillies and fresh coriander leaves
- The Parsi Akuri / parsi style scrambled eggs are ready.
Rekha’s Notes
- Akuri is very creamy, almost custardy and slightly undercooked than Indian egg bhurji. However if you like you can cook till soft scrambled egg stage.
- One can add 2 Tbsp of cream to make it more creamy but I wanted to keep fat content low so I skipped that.
- Authentic Parsi Akuri recipe does not include cream though.
Nutrition
- Eggs turned firm and dry? Heat too high, or on it too long. Low heat from the moment the eggs go in, and pull the pan while they still look slightly underdone.
- Watery at the bottom? The tomato went in underdone. Wait until it is pulpy with no free liquid.
- Too hot for the kids? Seed the chili or leave it out, but keep the ginger; that is the flavor that makes akuri taste like akuri.
- Sticking? Oil hot before the onion goes in, and a nonstick pan. Stainless works, as in my step photos, if the spatula keeps moving.
Akuri Variations
- Milder. Skip the green chili and use Kashmiri chili powder for color without heat.
- Extra creamy. Two tablespoons of cream stirred in with the eggs. I leave it out because the technique already gets you there.
- Eggs in tomato instead of tomato in eggs. That is shakshuka.
- Firm and crumbly, with more spice. Cook it through instead of pulling it early and you have street-style egg bhurji.
Serve It With
- Buttered toast, the way it is on my plate above. I use homemade whole wheat bread.
- Soft dinner rolls, or the spiced buns from my Mumbai masala pav if the bread should carry heat too.
- A cup of hot masala chai. That is the breakfast.
Meal Prep and Storage
Akuri is best straight from the pan. Leftovers keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet on low with a teaspoon of water and stop as soon as it is warm; the microwave turns it rubbery. I do not freeze it. If you prep breakfasts ahead, chop the onion, tomato, ginger and chili the night before, the way I do for high-protein breakfast meal prep.
Common Questions
What is akuri?
Akuri is a Parsi dish of scrambled eggs cooked with onion, tomato, ginger, green chili and turmeric, kept soft and slightly loose rather than dry. It is a breakfast staple in Parsi homes in Mumbai, eaten with pav or toast.
What is the difference between akuri and egg bhurji?
Same ingredients, different finish: akuri comes off the heat creamy and loose, while egg bhurji is cooked through until firm and crumbly, usually with more spice. My Mumbai street style egg bhurji recipe is the other end of that scale.
What do you serve akuri with?
Pav, the soft Mumbai bread roll, is traditional, and buttered toast, chapati or sourdough all work. A cup of hot tea completes it.
What is bharuchi akuri?
Bharuchi akuri, named for the town of Bharuch in Gujarat, is a rich festive version with fried onions, cashews, raisins and cream. It is made for celebrations, not everyday breakfast.
Hi, the recipe looks yummy, but you have not specified tomato in the ingredients list. Thanks
This was such an amazing recipe although I forgot to add the ginger.. it’s raining here in Mumbai and this was just the perfect breakfast with chai for all of us!! Thank you for sharing
Turned out great it was rich and creamy i added a pinch of garam masala. To the sauteing tomatoes cz i prefer the curry flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I used an induction cooker at the lowest power setting affter adding the eggs swapping for the next highest setting from time to time while stirring to reach the rich creamy consistancy.