Vegetable Omelette - Parsi Omlate

Lando's Note:

This is Madhur Jaffrey's excellent recipe for what she calls an omelette and I call an egg... pie... thing... miracle. There is no flipping to create a half-moon shape; what you get is a fluffy, flavorful pan-ful of heaven. I only use 2 Tbsp of oil instead of her 5 Tbsp and the result is still amazing. Enjoy!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 1.0 omelette

• 1 lb zucchini, grated
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium potato, diced
• 1 hot green chili pepper, minced
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ground black pepper
• 9 eggs
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley or 3 tablespoons cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1. Grate the zucchini and mix with 3/4 tsp of the salt. Leave in a bowl for 30 minutes, then squeeze all the liquid out. Meanwhile, chop the onions as finely as you can, then dice the potatoes into 1/4 inch pieces. Finally, chop the tomato.
2. Heat some oil in a pan measuring about 7-8inches across the bottom. Fry the onion over medium heat for about a minute, then add the potatoes and chili (add more chili if you want it hotter) and fry until potatoes become just soft, 5-10 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomato, cumin, the rest of the salt, cayenne, and a generous amount of black pepper. Stir until tomato becomes soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat to let cool.
3. Thoroughly beat the eggs in a bowl then dump in the cooled vegetables along with some finely chopped parsley or cilantro. Stir everything together, then sprinkle in the baking powder, making sure it dissolves completely, and mix well again.
4. Wipe clean your fry pan, add the last tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, set the temperature to med-low, pour in the egg mixture. Cover the pan (if you don't have a lid, use aluminum foil) and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the center gels. Here's the tricky part. You have to flip the whole pan over. To do this, use a dinner plate, place it over the pan holding it with one hand and use the other to lift and flip the pan. The bottom of the omelette should be a beautiful brown. Now, slide the omelette back into the pan so that the browned part is on top and cook another 5 minutes or so, uncovered. Flip it onto a plate again to serve.

Reviews

[ingvild]

Very good! We made this omlette for dinner and it turned out wonderfully, and I liked that we could make it with all local ingredients. Since kids were eating it, I substituted a mild pepper for the hot one, and sprinkled a little cheese on the top near the end. They loved it! Instead of flipping it back and forth on the plate, I just stuck the whole pan under the broiler for a minute just to finish cooking the top. I'll be making this one again!