My Grandpa's Bengali Shakshuka
I never got to know my grandpa. At least, not personally. He passed away from cancer before I was born. What I do know about him is from the stories my mom tells me. I know he ran away from home at the age of 15 to fight in a war, he stood up to corrupt police officers in Bangladesh, and I know he loved books. One of my favourite stories was told to me when I was a bit younger. I had been sitting at our marbled kitchen counter (on a barstool I’d struggled to get up on) as the early morning rays seeped in, watching my mom cook breakfast; an egg dish called shakshuka. Of course, it wasn’t regular shakshuka, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about it. No, this was my grandpa’s recipes.
My mom added some onions and spices to the pan of tomatoes and I heard everything come together in a symphony of sizzles. The aromas of the food flowed into my nose as she told me about my grandpa backpacking and hitchhiking from one local bus to another all the way to Europe from Bangladesh (a country at the bottom of Asia). Eventually he landed in Turkey where he first tasted--the originally North African--shakshuka and fell in love with the dish. It was an inexpensive and perfect meal for a man travelling on a budget.
When my grandpa came back from his trip, he craved the food he tasted on his journey. So, lacking easily accessible internet, he tried to recreate the dish from memory. Adding local Bengali spices and chili as replacement for peppers into the pan, he created a tasty Bangladeshi spin on the classic shakshuka.
My mom had a wistful smile on her face as she told me this story. Whenever we cook shakshuka together, she gets a chance to reminisce about her dad, and I get to learn a bit more about my mom’s childhood and my grandpa. I always favoured this story because it connected my mom, grandpa, and I through three things: our love for this special shakshuka, as well as our love for travelling and storytelling.
I love this connection I have to my grandpa; honouring his memory by cooking the dish with my mom and embracing the adventurous spirit within me.
My mom added some onions and spices to the pan of tomatoes and I heard everything come together in a symphony of sizzles. The aromas of the food flowed into my nose as she told me about my grandpa backpacking and hitchhiking from one local bus to another all the way to Europe from Bangladesh (a country at the bottom of Asia). Eventually he landed in Turkey where he first tasted--the originally North African--shakshuka and fell in love with the dish. It was an inexpensive and perfect meal for a man travelling on a budget.
When my grandpa came back from his trip, he craved the food he tasted on his journey. So, lacking easily accessible internet, he tried to recreate the dish from memory. Adding local Bengali spices and chili as replacement for peppers into the pan, he created a tasty Bangladeshi spin on the classic shakshuka.
My mom had a wistful smile on her face as she told me this story. Whenever we cook shakshuka together, she gets a chance to reminisce about her dad, and I get to learn a bit more about my mom’s childhood and my grandpa. I always favoured this story because it connected my mom, grandpa, and I through three things: our love for this special shakshuka, as well as our love for travelling and storytelling.
I love this connection I have to my grandpa; honouring his memory by cooking the dish with my mom and embracing the adventurous spirit within me.
Ingredients
Main:
Spice Base:
Toppings:
Modifications:
- 1 eggplant
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Spice Base:
- 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 3 garlic cloves 2 green chillies (optional/dependant on spice tolerance)
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt, or more depending on preference
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- Pepper to taste
Toppings:
- Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
Modifications:
- Optional: over the years, the dish changes sometimes based on the ingredients my mom has on hand. Sometimes she adds smoked paprika to the spice base and sprinkles sweet paprika on top. Sometimes she adds bell peppers as a vegetable when she doesn’t have enough eggplant.
- Optional: extra carbs of toast/pita bread/rice
- A pan
- A knife
- A cutting board
- A spoon
Recipe
- First, prep the eggplant by rinsing, trimming the ends, and then cutting it into small cubes.
Then salt the eggplant cubes lightly and set aside for 15–20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. - Finely chop tomatoes.
- Fry the eggplant and tomatoes.
Heat the oil until it just begins to smoke, then lower the heat. Fry vegetables until golden and soft. Remove and set aside. - Finely chop the onion and cut green chillies.
- In the same pan, on medium heat, sauté the onions and green chilis in 1 tsp of oil.
- Once onions are translucent, temper the ground spices by adding in cumin seeds, cumin, turmeric, and coriander and let them cook for a bit and sizzle.
- Lastly, add in the garlic. Stir constantly so the spices and garlic don't burn.
- Now add the eggplant and tomatoes back into the pan. Continue to sauté until everything is harmoniously mixed into a thick, chunky, jammy sauce. About 8 minutes.
- Add salt and stir, cooking until oil separates. Another 2-3 minutes.
- With the back of a spoon, form 4 deep wells in the sauce. Lower the heat and crack an egg into each well.
- Add a splash of about 1 tsp of water on top of each egg. Cover the dish and let simmer and the eggs poach on low heat for 4-5 mins.
- Turn off heat. Remove lid to check for doneness of eggs, they should be mostly firm but the yolk should be runny. Add chopped cilantro and black pepper (and any other optional toppings) over top to finish.
- Serve with toast, pita or rice.