Chirbuli

Ingredients

• 15¾ oztomatoesripe, diced; canned peeled tomatoes work too
• 3eggkeep the yolks intact when cracking
• 5¼ ozonionfinely diced or in half rings
• 3 clovesgarlicfinely chopped or crushed
• 1⅓ ozbuttervegetable oil as an alternative
• 2½ ozwalnutscoarsely ground, crushed with garlic and spices (optional)
• 1 tspchilliflakes or one fresh pod, finely chopped
• ½ tspblue fenugreek
• 1 pinchkhmeli suneli (optional)
• ½ tspground coriander (optional)
• 2½ ozsuluguni cheesegrated, stirred in before the eggs (optional)
• ⅓ ozDillroughly chopped
• ⅓ ozbasilpurple basil if available
• ½ ozcilantro (optional)
• ⅓ ozparsley (optional)
• ⅓ ozspring onion (optional)
• saltto taste
• black pepperto taste
• 1 tspcornflouronly to bind very juicy tomatoes (optional)
• breadfor dipping into the tomato-egg sauce

Method

1. Crush the walnuts with one clove of garlic, the blue fenugreek and the ground coriander until coarse — leave visible pieces, you want to feel them in the sauce later.
2. Dice the onion finely or cut it into half rings, and dice the tomatoes, peeling them first if you like; peeled canned tomatoes work just as well.
3. Heat the butter or ghee in a wide pan and soften the onion over medium to low heat for 5 to 6 minutes, without letting it take on colour.
4. Add the tomatoes and let them cook down for 3 to 5 minutes, until you have a loose, juicy sauce.
5. Season with salt and black pepper, stir in the remaining two cloves of garlic, the chilli and the khmeli suneli, then add the walnut mixture with a splash of water and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Stir in two thirds of the dill, basil, cilantro, parsley and spring onion and turn the heat down to its lowest setting. If you're using suluguni, stir in the grated cheese now and let it melt.
7. Press hollows into the sauce with a spoon and slide in the eggs one by one, keeping the yolks intact.
8. Cover and leave for 3 to 5 minutes, until the whites have set and the yolks are still runny.
9. Take the pan off the heat straight away, scatter over plenty of fresh herbs and serve directly from the pan with bread.

Tips and variations

The walnuts are meant to stay visible in the sauce; alternatively, melt grated suluguni into the tomatoes just before the eggs go in. There's a leaner version too: just tomatoes in olive oil with basil and oregano, skipping the onion, garlic and nuts. Butter, ghee, sunflower oil or olive oil all work as the fat, and mild peppers can stand in for the fresh chilli. If your tomatoes are very watery, dust a teaspoon of cornflour over the onions. Bring the pan to the table as it is, with plenty of bread for dipping.