Mustard seed and tomato masala omelette

I ate this on repeat on a trip to Kerala a few years ago and it has become one of those recipes that makes its way into my kitchen so often that it feels like a good friend. It makes an amazing quick supper, without compromising on interest and flavour. Sometimes I throw in some leftover sliced potatoes – most other vegetables that blend well with a bit of spice would be welcome, too. We also eat it for a weekend brunch paired with a spoonful of avocado and a cup of coffee or milky chai.

Serves 2
1 tsp black mustard seeds
A pinch of cumin seeds
A pinch of ground turmeric
A pinch of garam masala
A handful of cherry tomatoes

1 bunch of spring onions
A small bunch of coriander
1 green chilli
4 eggs
A knob of butter
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
A pinch of sea salt

1 Heat a nonstick pan on a medium heat and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Keep moving them around the pan until they start smelling toasty and the mustard seeds begin to pop. Next, add the turmeric and garam masala and take the pan off the heat.

2 Tip the spices into a bowl. Roughly quarter the tomatoes before adding them to the bowl. Finely chop the spring onions, then finely chop the stalks of the coriander and roughly chop the leaves. Finally, chop the green chilli finely and add this and all the chopped vegetables and herbs to the bowl. Mix well, then scoop out a third of the mixture and put to one side.

3 Break the eggs into the bowl, add a good pinch of sea salt and mix everything together with a fork. You can either cook one larger omelette or two smaller ones. Either way, heat a suitably sized nonstick frying pan and add the butter. Swirl it around to make sure the pan is well covered with butter, then add all or half of the mixture, swirling the eggs around for 30 seconds or so. Then pull the eggs away from the side of the pan, tipping the pan to let the still-runny egg fill the gap. After 30 seconds leave it to set for a minute. Now slide it on to a plate and top with the rest of the tomato mixture. Finish with a little lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice.