Recipe of the week: Sri Lankan turmeric omelette
This is a delicious savoury breakfast dish, says Cynthia Shanmugalingam

This is a favourite breakfast dish in my family, says Cynthia Shanmugalingam. It’s very easy and quick, and is best served with something fresh like a dill, lime and watercress salad, and perhaps some soft white bread.
Ingredients:
- A pinch of cumin seeds
- a pinch of black peppercorns
- 3 large organic or free-range eggs
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to serve
- ¾ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil
- ½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced (or a nice alternative is 2-3 spring onions, chopped into 2cm pieces)
- 1-2 green chillies, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
- 7-8 fresh curry leaves
Method:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- For the pepper-cumin mix, toast the cumin seeds and peppercorns together in a small dry frying pan on a medium heat for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then blitz in a spice grinder, mini food processor, or pestle and mortar, until fine. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs together with the salt and ground turmeric until frothy. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan around 20-25cm wide on a medium heat. Add the onion (or spring onions), green chilli, garlic and curry leaves. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes, so that the onion softens; don’t allow it to crisp, and don’t cook past the point that the chillies and the curry leaves are still a bright green colour.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, wait 30 seconds for the oil to get hot, and then pour in the eggs. Keep cooking on a medium heat and use a spatula to pull the edges in as they set, tilting the pan to spread the uncooked mixture around. Continue this motion of pulling the edges in and tilting all around the pan, until the omelette is almost set, which will take around 2-3 minutes.
- Fold in half and serve, dusting generously with the pepper-cumin mix and a little extra salt.
Taken from Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka by Cynthia Shanmugalingam (Bloomsbury, £26). To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99 (incl. P&P), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
21 things Trump has said about the military
In Depth The president has a history of making off-color remarks about veterans and service members
By David Faris Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: What's happening to Afghan women cricketers?
Podcast Plus, can AI understand religion? And are we losing the war against rats?
By The Week UK Published
-
James Birch shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The curator and art dealer picks works by Mikhail Lermontov, Negley Farson and others
By The Week UK Published
-
James Birch shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The curator and art dealer picks works by Mikhail Lermontov, Negley Farson and others
By The Week UK Published
-
Iconic: a 'compact but brilliant' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Charismatic' show explores how artists are inspired by photography
By The Week UK Published
-
Companion: Sophie Thatcher brings 'wonderful delicacy' to robotic girlfriend
The Week Recommends Slick sci-fi thriller is 'clever, funny and exquisitely cast'
By The Week UK Published
-
The Secret Painter: Joe Tucker's 'witty and touching' memoir explores lifelong hidden talent
The Week Recommends A 'fitting tribute' to a man who explored working-class communities in his art
By The Week UK Published
-
Brian and Maggie: Harriet Walter 'captures the essence' of Margaret Thatcher
The Week Recommends James Graham's two-part Channel 4 drama is an 'absorbing study of politics, class and conflicted loyalties'
By The Week UK Published
-
6 lavish homes for wine lovers
Feature Featuring a climate-controlled glass wine vault in Texas and a vineyard mural in Oklahoma
By The Week Staff Published
-
John Sayles' 6 favorite works that left a lasting impression
Feature The Oscar-nominated screenwriter recommends works by William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
'Swimming in the sky' in northern Brazil
The Week Recommends The pools of Lençóis Maranhenses are clear and blue
By The Week UK Published