Tried and Tasted: Here’s where to sample the best egg dishes in Delhi
Rahul Mehra, who runs Rahul Eggs, has been selling egg dishes for the last 28 years. Rahul Eggs sells 505 different kinds of egg preparations.
Eggs don’t deserve the bad press they’ve been getting all these years. And while new studies maintain that eggs are good for you, people continue to look at these protein balls with suspicion. When I tell my friends that I have an egg a day, eyebrows go up faster than NASA rockets. Eggs, they say scream. One whole egg, did you say? And with the yolk?
Thankfully, there are many others like me who love their eggs – and are proud to say so. One such gentleman is Rahul Mehra, who runs a place called Rahul Eggs in Keshav Puram in north Delhi. I had heard paeans sung to it, so I decided it was time I visited it.
The experience was mind boggling. Rahul Eggs sells 505 different kinds of egg preparations. It is known mostly for its omelettes, but there are other dishes, too, such as French toasts, half-fried eggs, boiled eggs, bhurji and so on. The omelettes come not just with various kinds of fillings, but also experiment with different cuisines. All the dishes are cooked in butter, and many come folded in a slice of bread.
But first let me tell you about Rahul. He has been selling egg dishes for the last 28 years. He started with a small outlet in Ashok Vihar, and now has flourishing eateries in Keshavpuram and Pitampura. Plans are afoot to set up a restaurant somewhere in south Delhi now.
The Keshavpuram restaurant is just outside the Metro station. We went in, had a look at the humungous menu card – and were floored.
I started with their Special Monako, for which a slice of garlic bread is dipped in egg batter and fried. This is then served hot with mayonnaise piped on all the sides and a small well of tomato ketchup at the centre. I had the DJC – Diamond Jalandhari Cream. This is an interesting omelette, with two different kinds of flavours vying for attention – a spicy, tomato-based chicken curry and cream. The omelette comes wrapped around a slice of bread. On one side of the omelette was the Jalandhari gravy, and the other side, plain cream. I also tried out their Jalandhari chicken omelette, which came studded with pieces of fried chicken. He adds mayo, chilli sauce and other such flavours to add to the taste.
The list of 505 dishes includes some of the usual egg fare – boiled eggs, cheese omelette and mushroom-cheese omelette – but has a whole lot of dishes that you may not have ever encountered. To name just a few, you can try out the special Chinese omelette, Chinese korma omelette, tandoori pasta omelette, gravy pasta omelette, soft keema omelette, kababi omelette, garlic Afghani, achari Afghani, malai omelette, salami half fry, Salami Jalandhari, super chicken and chicken egg pizza.
If you like your eggs but don’t want them fried in butter, you could look at the fat-free section, which has a fat-free omelette, water omelette, water bhurji and water half-fry.
The rates range between Rs 20 (for two boiled eggs) and Rs 199 (for a host of Jalandhari and other such exotic omelettes).
Legend has it that Rahul started helping the family by frying omelettes and bhurji for hungry pedestrians. His omelettes became popular, and Rahul’s business soared with time.
What does he do during Navratri, when a great many Delhi-ites go off eggs? He shuts his eateries for nine days, he says. They are also shut on Tuesdays, which is a day when many people who otherwise like their non-vegetarian food turn vegetarian.
Rahul Eggs is quite something. Here’s to his 506th dish.
Recipe: Masala French toast
Ingredients: 2 slices of bread, 1 egg, 2 tsp chopped onions, ½ tsp chopped green chillies, 1tbsp milk, salt and pepper to taste, oil for frying
Method: Beat the egg with the milk. Add salt and pepper. Cut the slice into two, and discard the sides. Heat oil in a frying pan. Dip the bread in the egg and put the rectangular slices in the pan. When it starts sizzling, add half the onions and the chillies on top of the slices. Gently turn the slices around, and then sprinkle the remaining onions and chillies on top. When they are golden brown, turn them around once more, so that the onions get browned. Now serve with ketchup.
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