Eggplant Kasundi, Poached Egg, Asparagus on Toast

If I had to limit myself to one single breakfast place for the rest of my life, it would probably be Friends of Mine in Richmond. Its a lovely café, treating you with all day breakfast, amazingly good lattes and a laid-back atmosphere. I can't count the times I went there any more, but not a single visit could be one too many.

My all time favourite breakfast at Friends of Mine is the Hung Over Breakfast. I enjoy it every time, even completely sober. It's poached eggs, bacon & avocado on a cheesy herb toast and it goes extremely well with their homemade eggplant kasundi. Kasundi is what they call pickles in India. Think of a fragrant masala with lots of spices combined with ginger, chili and garlic. Nowadays, we make our own eggplant kasundi at home. Chef Matt Moran shared a recipe in which he combines it with poached egg and asparagus topped with shaved parmesan cheese. This recipe makes quite a large amount of kasundi, but it keeps well in the fridge for up to three weeks.

Recipe

Kasundi

1 large eggplant, cut into small cubes

125ml extra virgin olive oil

10 curry leaves

1/2 tsp each yellow mustard and fenugreek seeds

10cm piece ginger, finely grated

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 long red chillies, thinly sliced

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garam masala

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (If you can't get apple cider vinegar, replace with 1/4 cup apple vinegar)

1 tbsp brown sugar

salt

Place the eggplant cubes into a colander. Add 1 tbsp of salt, mix and let sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse, drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Add the curry leaves, fenugreek and mustard seeds and stir, until the mustard seeds start to pop. Lower the heat to medium. Add chili, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic, or it will taste bitter. Add the spices and the eggplant and cook for a little longer, stirring constantly, until the eggplant starts to brown slightly. Add the apple cider vingear, tomatoes and sugar, mix well, and let the kasundi simmer on a low heat. Matt suggests simmering the kasundi for 18-20 minutes until its done. But I like the eggplant to be very soft and the texture of the kasundi to be quite dry, which takes about 45 minutes. Your choice!

Poached eggs and asparagus on toast

Feeds two people

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

olive oil

4 eggs

100ml white vinegar

2 grilled or toasted sourdough slices,

chopped chives and shaved parmesan

salt and pepper

Toss the asparagus with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue to medium high heat. Grill the asparagus for about five minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Now comes the tricky bit: poaching the eggs. There are two possible ways to do this: The traditional way, which involves creating a whirlpool in your pot of boiling water to drop your eggs into. Or the slightly more pragmatic way, using tools such as silicone egg poachers, which will do the job just as well. We use OXO good grip egg poachers, available on amazon. There are egg poachers that require you to cover the eggs in oiled cling film or ones that just sit at the surface of your pot. Don't buy tools that won't let your eggs touch the water. The result will NOT be poached eggs.

If you're feeling traditional, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and the white vinegar. Turn the temperature down until you can just see bubbles forming on the bottom of the pot (not on the surface!). Use a large spoon to create a whirlpool in the water. Drop two eggs into the whirlpool at a time and poach for 3 and 1/2 minutes or until done to your liking. Take them out with a slotted spoon and dry with kitchen towels.

Alternatively, bring a large pot of water, salt and vinegar and your egg poaching devices to a light boil. Drop the eggs into your poachers and cook for 3 and 1/2 minutes or until done to your liking. Remove and dry with kitchen towels.

To assemble your breakfast, spoon some eggplant kasundi onto each sourdough toast and top with the asparagus and two poachies. Sprinkle over chives and shaved parmesan to serve.