Simple, flavorful poached eggs with chick peas

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This recipe was on a newspaper clipping in an old file folder in my grandmother's kitchen, I found it years after she had passed away. It was called "Indian Supper with Eggs".

I can't imagine that my grandmother would have ever cooked it. She was not an adventurous cook, nor was she an adventurous eater. Was it really an Indian recipe?Perhaps the food editor back in the day considered it more exotic to attribute a dish to a far away exotic place. Certainly a spiced bean and veggie and egg dish from India tastes better than one from Auntie Griselda's recipe box. 

I experimented with the recipe a little and added bell peppers (use yellow ones for the best color combination with the other ingredients, but the color does't really matter)...and I took out beef bullion powder (I wanted a vegetarian recipe, after all). It's a wonderfully simple meal, full of flavor but not horribly spicy. To cool down the spice even more, you can leave the chili out all together.

Also, if you like to start off your day with a spicy kick, leftovers from this supper make an excellent breakfast.

                                                  Chick Peas with Poached Eggs
                                                                   2 servings

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1/2 of a red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 5 scallions, sliced, keeping the whites and green parts separate
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of coriander 
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric 
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• 1/3 bunch of cilantro
• 15 ounce can of chick peas, drained and liquid reserved
• 4 eggs

1. Heat the oil, add the garlic, pepper, chilli and the whites from the scallions. Fry for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. 
2. While the vegetables are sautéing, fill a large pot with water and start heating it to boiling.
3. Add the spices, tomatoes, most of the cilantro and the chickpeas to the pan of sautéing vegetables and cook for another couple of minutes.
4. Stir in enough of the liquid from the chickpeas to moisten everything, and leave it all to bubble gently in the pan.
5. Once the water is at a rolling boil, crack in the eggs and poach them for two more minutes and then take them out with a slotted spoon.
6. Stir in the scallion greens into the chickpeas, then very lightly crush a few of the chickpeas.
7. Spoon the chickpea mixture onto plates, scatter with the reserved cilantro and top  the whole thing with the eggs.