Eggs Kejriwal: Chilli Cheese Eggs on Toast

Inspired by the Dishoom breakfast, I thought that I would have to recreate this classic Mumbai eggs chilli cheese Kejriwal dish at home. It is a perfect combination of flavours with the kick of green chillis, the saltiness of cheese balanced out by the creaminess of eggs all on a crisp slice of sourdough toast.

I first had this dish, not on the streets of Mumbai unfortunately, but at the Dishoom (Canarby branch), with my best friend and we instantly fell in love with it. The cheese, the runny eggs, the chilli (we are big fans of spice) balanced out with a chai. I thought to myself, this is incredible and why did I not know about this before.

Every time I have gone for a Dishoom breakfast since, I always order the Kejriwal and nothing else tempts me on their very excellent menu. That is how much I love it.

So, it only made sense that I re-create it at home because sometimes I can’t wait until the next time my friends and I plan a Dishoom breakfast. If you want to make this a complete indian brunch experience, I highly recommend pairing it with either a karak chai, an iced chai, or an iced chai latte!

If you would like other Indian vegetarian friendly breakfasts check out my kathi egg rolls.

Ingredients?

1. A slice of bread or brioche: The Bombay canteen, who has a popular Kejriwal dish at its restaurant in Mumbai uses brioche, though I actually much prefer sourdough.
2. Grated cheddar cheese: or if you have other types of cheese to hand then parmesan or gruyere cheese.
3. One or two green chillis: Adjust according to your preference, if you don’t like this too hot then use less, or even half!
4. One spring onion: this is optional, but highly highly recommended.
5. Chilli oil and cracked black pepper (I topped mine off with chilli oil for added flavour, but this is totally optional)

From Mumbai to London and New York.

The origins and history of the eggs Kejriwal dish start in Mumbai during the 1960s, at an elite members club called the ‘Willingdon Sports Club’ where a Mr Devi Prasad Kejriwal was a frequent visitor. (Note that Devi Prasad Kejriwal should not be mistaken for Arvind Kejriwal who is a senior Indian politician).

The New Indian Express reports that as Devi Prasad was a pure vegetarian at home (see the introduction to my Tofu Bhurji recipe where I outline what a pure vegetarian diet is!), but loved eggs, he requested for an eggs on toast dish, but with the eggs hidden.

The chefs produced this chilli cheese eggs on toast recipe but with the egg hidden under the layers of chutney, chillis and cheese.

I actually find this story hilarious, especially at the thought of Prasad Kejriwal going to such lengths to conceal eggs, but it makes sense because he apparently belonged to a relatively strict pure veg household!

Now though, you will find the dish celebrated and widely consumed around the world, in London (at Dishoom), and in New York City (formerly at Paowalla, which changed to the Bombay Bread Bar and then unfortunately closed).

One thing you should know about me is, I absolutely adore food and history (I filmed a whole series about food and history with the South Asian Heritage Month organisation).

There are so many layers to one singular dish that can tell you stories about people, an era in time, culture and heritage.

In our Eggs Kejriwal dish, we learned about Devi Kejriwal, the type of household he belonged to, an elite members club in India and how the dish has transported and renditioned in popular restaurants from London to New York.

Luckily the ingredients are probably in your fridge, so you can totally make this at home for a great Sunday brunch, or a treat-yourself-breakfast if you’re not in India or close to a Dishoom!