Masala Egg Bhurji
Indian-spiced scrambled eggs with cottage cheese folded in, served with a side of Greek yogurt. A 25g-protein breakfast that comes together in 10 minutes flat.
Egg bhurji is what got me through early morning gym sessions in college. Fifteen minutes from pan to plate, and loaded with protein. If you can scramble eggs, you can make this. It's just scrambled eggs with way more going on in the flavor department.
The original version uses two eggs per serving, which gives you maybe 12g of protein. Fine for a light morning, but useless if you just did a heavy squat session. I pushed it to three eggs per serving and started stirring in cottage cheese during the last minute of cooking. The cottage cheese melts slightly into the eggs, creating these amazing pockets of richness that make it taste way more indulgent than it is.
I make this almost every morning. Sometimes I wrap it in a roti, sometimes I eat it with toast, and sometimes I just eat it straight from the pan while standing in my kitchen at 6 AM before the gym. No judgment.
The Protein Upgrade
Standard egg bhurji uses 2 eggs per serving and that's about it, roughly 12-14g of protein. We made two changes: increased to 3 eggs per serving (12 total) and folded in cottage cheese which softens in the heat and creates incredible richness. Always serve with a side of Greek yogurt. From ~13g to 25g, turning a light breakfast into a serious protein bomb.
Masala Egg Bhurji
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs 18g protein
- ½ cup cottage cheese 2g protein
- 1 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 1 medium tomato (finely diced)
- 2 green chilies (finely chopped)
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt (served on the side) 3g protein
Instructions
- Crack all eggs into a bowl, add turmeric and salt, and whisk lightly. Don't over-beat, you want some variation in texture.
- Heat butter or ghee in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
- Add diced onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add green chilies and diced tomato. Cook for 2 minutes until tomato softens but still holds its shape.
- Add chili powder and stir for 15 seconds.
- Pour in the eggs. Let them set for about 30 seconds on the bottom, then gently fold and stir with a spatula.
- When eggs are about 75% set, add the cottage cheese. Fold it in gently, the residual heat will soften it slightly.
- Continue folding until eggs are just set but still slightly creamy. Remove from heat immediately.
- Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Greek yogurt on the side and toast or roti.
Boost Your Protein
- Serve on high-protein bread or wrap for an extra 5-8g protein.
- Add 2 tbsp hemp seeds sprinkled on top for an extra 5g protein per serving.
- Increase to 4 eggs per serving for an extra 6g protein per serving.
Ingredient Substitutions
- No cottage cheese? Use crumbled paneer or extra-firm tofu.
- No ghee? Use butter or a neutral oil like avocado oil.
- No green chilies? Use a pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Swap eggs for crumbled firm tofu with black salt (kala namak) for a vegan version.
