Menemen (Turkish Eggs with Tomatoes & Peppers)
مینیمین (ٹماٹر اور مرچوں والے ترکی انڈے)
Menemen will feel instantly familiar to anyone who grew up on khageena. It's eggs cooked with tomatoes and green peppers, but the Turkish way uses much more tomato, cooked down into a juicy sauce, and the eggs are stirred in only lightly so they stay soft and silky. It's cooked and served in the same small pan (a *sahan*), and everyone tears off bread and dips in. It's the hot centrepiece of a Turkish .
- ⏱ Total: 25 min
- Prep: 10 min
- Cook: 15 min
- Easy
- Serves 2
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan or over medium heat. Add the peppers (and onion, if using) and cook for 4–5 minutes until soft.
Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the tomatoes have broken down into a thick, juicy sauce.
Lower the heat. Crack in the eggs and wait 30 seconds, then gently stir a few times with a spoon so you get streaks of white and yolk in the sauce, not a uniform scramble.
Cook for 2–3 minutes more, until the eggs are just set but still soft and glossy. Take off the heat; they'll keep cooking in the hot pan.
Sprinkle with pul biber, black pepper and parsley and serve in the pan, with plenty of bread.
Kitchen notes
Ripe, red tomatoes make or break menemen. In winter, when tomatoes are pale, add a teaspoon of tomato paste.
Don't overcook the eggs. Menemen should be loose and saucy, not dry like an omelette.
Crumbled white cheese stirred in at the end is a popular addition.
The hot dish of a Turkish breakfast
A Turkish is mostly cold: cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, honey and jam. Menemen is the hot dish in the middle, brought to the table bubbling in its pan. For Pakistani cooks, it’s the easiest way into Turkish breakfast because it’s so close to khageena and desi omelette.
What makes it different
Lots of tomato. Four tomatoes for four eggs. The tomatoes cook down into a juicy sauce before the eggs go in, so menemen is saucy, almost like a shakshuka.
Soft eggs. The eggs are barely stirred, so you see streaks of white and yellow through the red sauce. Overcooked, dry menemen is considered a failure.
Few spices. Salt, black pepper and . The flavour comes from good tomatoes and butter.
Peppers in Pakistan
Turkey uses sivri biber, long, thin green peppers that are mild with only a little heat. In Pakistan, use a mix of green capsicum for body and one ordinary green chili for heat, or the long, mild green chilies sold for pakoras.
Serving
Serve in the pan with fresh bread, white cheese, olives, cucumber and endless glasses of Turkish tea.
Questions people ask
Onion or no onion?
It's a famous Turkish argument. Many Istanbul cooks say no onion; others always add it. Both are authentic. Try it both ways.
How is it different from khageena?
Khageena uses less tomato, more onion and spices like turmeric and chili, and the eggs are scrambled through. Menemen is mostly tomato and pepper, with the eggs left soft and streaky.
Can I make it ahead?
Not really. It's best eaten straight away. You can cook the tomato sauce ahead and add the eggs when you're ready.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 290
- Protein
- 15 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
