Chicken With Eggs (Toyug Chighirtmasi)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a chicken recipe, hasn’t it?  Considering that chicken is a widely used type of poultry in Azerbaijan and that there are countless recipes with it, I have no excuse not to post them on my blog from time to time. So, yesterday I decided to roll up my sleeves, get into kitchen and cook a classic Azerbaijani dish – Chicken With Eggs called Toyug Chighirtmasi in Azeri. The word Chighirtma is a general name given to dishes in which eggs are added at the very end and cooked until set, like in the recipe for Ispanag Chighirtmasi (Spinach with Eggs) I posted a while ago. Or, in Badimjan Chighirtmasi (Eggplant with Eggs), Kartof Chighirtmasi (Potatoes with Eggs),  Pomidor Chighirtmasi (Tomatoes with Eggs), you name it. There is this entirely separate category with egg dishes in Azerbaijani cuisine.

Toyug Chighirtmasi is a very popular dish in Azerbaijan. The recipe varies slightly from region to region and even from family to family. Some people like to add squeezed lemon juice to the chicken for that nice tanginess. Or, in some cases, the chicken is boiled before it is fried.

This is how I make my chicken with eggs.  What I like about this particular recipe is that the eggs do not overpower the overall flavor of the dish; I don’t add too many of them to it. The eggs blend in with other ingredients so well that you almost do not taste them in the cooked dish. Also, during the simmering process, the onions and tomatoes melt down to the consistency of almost a pasta sauce – so delicious. We enjoyed Toyug Chighitmasi at dinner yesterday, hope you do too when you cook it.

Chicken with Eggs (Toyug Chighirtmasi)

Serves 4 to 6

3 spoons vegetable oil
2 spoons butter
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 pounds / 900g boneless or bone-in chicken parts, cut into about 10 serving pieces (I use boneless chicken thighs)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon, or more, to taste, ground black pepper
4 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped, with their juices
3 eggs, lightly beaten
chopped cilantro (coriander) or parsley, to garnish

Note 1: If your tomatoes are not ripe and juicy, dissolve 1 tablespoon tomato paste in 1/2 cup hot water and add it to the chicken along with chopped tomatoes.

Note 2: You can also bake this dish in the oven at the last stage. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish then pour the eggs over it. Bake in the 400F (200C) degree oven until the eggs are set. It makes for a beuatiful presentation if you serve this dish straight from your baking dish.

1. In a medium frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until it is light brown. Transfer the onion to a bowl and put aside.

2. Add the remaining oil and the butter to the same frying pan and heat over medium heat (Note: butter alone tends to brown when you melt it. Adding some fluid oil to the pan along with butter will prevent that). Add the chicken pieces and fry for about 20 minutes, or until they are brown, turning them once to cook on both sides.

3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the cooked onions and chopped tomatoes with juices to the pan. Cover and turning only occasionally, simmer over medium heat for about 25 minutes,  or until the chicken is tender.

4. Pour the beaten eggs over the chicken, slightly tilting the pan to distribute the eggs evenly. Cover the pan and let cook for about 5-7 minutes (do not stir!) or until the eggs are set. Serve immediatley, garnished with fresh chopped cilantro or parsley. Chicken with Eggs is delicious with bread or rice. NUSH OLSUN! ENJOY!

83 Comments

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  1. Bravo Farida! Looks delish… some lemon juice and a pinch of oregano on mine, please! 🙂

  2. Oh my! What a meal! Looks so delicious! Beautiful photo too 🙂

  3. I don’t think I have ever eaten chicken and eggs together. This looks delicious!

  4. Would be lovely with some pita!

  5. Another great recipe Farida, It looks great. My Mum uses shreded cooked chicken in her Chighirtmasi and its really nice. I will try your version very soon. Thanks for sharing:-)
    X M

  6. Farida, looks gorgeous. We do have all the other egg dishes you listed, but this one I’ve never heard of. Beautiful.

  7. What a decadent looking dish and really lovely pictures!

  8. What a unique recipe…lovely picture too 🙂

  9. This is something very new to me. I’ve had shredded potatos veg with egg being set on the top ( like a breakfast), but never with chicken.

    Great Pic as usual.

  10. Oh Fari, I may sound like a drunken sailor trying to pronounce the name of your dish, but I couldn’t care less.
    It looks so wonderfully delicious! Thank you pal for sharing this!

  11. Hi Farida, this dish looks absolutely delish! luv the step by tep pics. will be great eaten with pita bread.

  12. Hope you are well! Thank you for your sweet comment! & Yes you had mentioned you liked the blog! Take care of yourself! Wishing you and your family a wonderful and healthy holiday season! Cok optum..

  13. its morning here…and i have to stop the urge of just tearing into my lappy to get to ur chicken with eggs….:p
    thanks for stopping by.

  14. this looks great. I love chicken recipes since most of my meals are chicken based 🙂

  15. I’m always on look for different ways to cook up chicken,I’m glad I found you recipe farida.Looks delicious!

  16. this is a very unique recipe, and definitely worth trying….

  17. I like discovering new recipes. Never heard of chicken & eggs. Looks good.

  18. looks fantastic farida, and i like how you’ve posted up pics of the process. tres delicious, darling! x

  19. abla, I’ll have to give this ‘omelette’ a try soon! Omelette is my favourite side dish and I have never added chickn in them till now! sham on me! hugs!

  20. This looks like a great chicken dish! I will have to give it a try!

  21. This looks absolutely delicious, Farida! I hope you are having a good birthday month! Thanks to you for the birthday wishes, as well!

  22. Wow Farida…this looks amazing! I love anything with eggs! This reminds me of all the Persian “omelets” my mom made called Kukuye….but I’ve never had any with chicken. I can’t wait to try this!

  23. SAM: Oregano sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the tip:)

    MARIJA: Thank you!

    MELISSA: Egg with meats sounds weird at first but it’s actually a great combo.

    MAYA: Pita would be great, yes!

    MATIN: I am curious about your mom’s version of this. Please post the recipe on your blog:)

    AYSEGUL: Happy Holidays to you too. Ben de optum:)

    BURCU: Turkish egg dishes are so versatile, I love them!

    ERIN: Thank you!

    SUNITA: Thank you!

    MARYSOL: Amiga, with some practice you will say the name of this dish better than any Azerbaijani:) Glad you like the recipe:)

    ZARINA: Thank you dear.

    NAVITA: Please do not ruin your lappy:) Glad you like the recipe.

    SNOOKYDOODLE: I will be most honored if my recipes makes it to your chicken recipe collection.

    YASMEEN: Glad you like it!

    DOGGYBLOGGY: Thank you. Hope you get to cook it one day.

    HELENE: Glad you like it. Chicken with eggs is delicious

    DAVA: Diva girl, merci beaucoup:)

    MRS. ERGUL: Arkadasim, tarifeyi begendiyine cok sevindim:) Hugs.

    LILIANA: Please let me know how it turns our if you get to try it.!

    JENN: Thanks for your B-day wishes too!

    AVESTA: We make Kuku too, all sorts of them, somewhat similar to Persian kukus.

  24. i always cook egg with a lot of stuffs but never with chicken! what a great idea!! the photo looks terribly delicious yum!

  25. So simple, yet it looks so delicious! My favorite kind of recipe. Yum!

  26. Long time no news…so stopped by to visit n inform u that I am officially following u..on my roll..lol.

  27. Thanks for sharing this recipe..Looks so delicious..yet easy to cook..will try it soon..

  28. Nom-nom! It looks delicious Farida :). I enjoy the mix of eggs and tomatoes too, heavenly even for scrambled eggs!

  29. Thanks for the introduction to this very attractive dish!

    Happy Holidays to you and the family.

  30. beautiful recipe. it reminds me a bit of a loose version of tortilla espanola. i say loose, ok cause i know spaniards would kill me for saying that. anyways, it looks beautiful and the added cilantro is an interesting touch!

  31. DHANGGIT: Thank you!

    ELLE: Yes, it is quite simple yet packed with flavor.

    NAVITA HAKIM: Thank you. I am honored to be in your roll.

    NIMET DUNDAR: You are welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

    LORE: I too love the combo of eggs and tomatoes.

    CYNTHIA NELSON: Than you. Happy Holidays to you too!

    WE ARE NEVER FULL: I need to look into tortilla Espanola to see what you mean by loose:)

  32. the combination of chicken and egg is really nice concept thanks

  33. Nice recipies….

  34. Wow awesome recipe. Looks spicy and yummy. Eggs and chicken both are my favourites.

  35. Hi Farida!! How are you? Missed you!! Choxdandyr yazyshmyryg! Necesen? garshydan gelen bayramlaryn mubarek! today i will be posting an ignorant post about plov and will refer my readers to your SUPERB website!! Sag ol ki, varsan 🙂

    opurem! be well!!

  36. Nice recipies…. Looks spicy and yummy. Eggs and chicken both are my favourites. Please post more…

  37. Yumm… Merry Christmas and Happy new Year
    Take care

  38. Hey Farida
    Nice chicken recipe..thanks fro sharing it..i am going to try it as well..
    I would also like to wish you Merry Christmas and wonderful ushering into new year 2009.

  39. SEEMA BHATIA: Welcome to my blog. Glad you like the recipe.

    YOGINDER: Welcome and thanks alot!

    LUBNA KARIM: It may look spicy, but it is not spicy at all:) Azerbaijani food is usually not spicy.

    AYTEN: Thank you. I’ll reply to you in your blog post:)

    MyUSICA: Welcome to my blog. Happy Holidays to you too!

  40. Delicious, I’m sure – it certainly looks it!

    Hope you had a great Christmas!

  41. Looks heavenly. I adore eggs. Happy Holidays!

  42. I’ve just discovered your blog and I am very impressed. This recipe looks soo good, I have to try it. The name of it is very interesting and the second word sounds so similar to Turkish. I guess we’d say it “cigirtmasi”, but I don’t know what it means.

    Happy Holidays to you.

  43. ANAMIKA: Thank you! Happy New Year to you! Wishing you all the best in all the years to come!

    SCOTT: Thank you, Scott. Happy Holidays to you!

    ALEXANDRA’s KITCHEN: Glad you like it. Happy Holidays to you too!

    MEDITERRANEAN TURKISH FOOD: Welcome to my blog. Glad you like it here. Please visit often. Happy Holidays to you too!

  44. dear farida, here’s wishing you and your family a wonderful 2009.

  45. Dish is really attractive and yummy. Wishing u a very happy and fabulous new year.

  46. BEE: Thank you! Happy New Year to you and your family too. Wishing you all the best.

    PREMA: Welcome to my blog. Happy New year to you too!

  47. Happy New Year to you & your Family Farida!

  48. That looks really tasty!

    Happy new year!

  49. what an interesting sounding dish!

  50. The dish looks mouthwatering! Happy New Year, Farida, to you and your family!

  51. Hello Feride,

    I just wanted to let you know that last night, I made this dish after seeing it on your site and it was so delicious! Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. We’d never eaten eggs and chicken together in the same dish; this was the first time. To our surprise, it turned out really good.

    The only thing I did different from your recipe is that I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I look forward to trying your other recipes.

    Sana iyi hafta sonlari diliyorum. Sevgiler.

    Nihal

  52. SOMA: Thank you. Happy New Year to you too!

    KEVIN: Thank you and a very Happy New Year!

    LEIGH: Glad you find it interesting.

    VERA: Thank you. Happy New Year to you and your family too!

    MEDITERRANEAN TURKISH FOOD: Nihal, so glad you tried this recipe and that it turned out delicious! I am pleasantly surprised:) as I find that chicken breast only is not the best choice for this dish – I find it slightly bland. But nonetheless, glad yours turned great. Gek kaldim ama yine de sana Iyi Seneler demek istiyorum. Bir daha tesekkur ederim. Gercekten cok mutlu oldum tarifi denedigin icin.

  53. Happy new year, Farida!

    I cook so much chicken I’m always looking for new and interesting recipes. This is fabulous! Reminds me of something I do with chorizos and peppers.

  54. Beautiful dish and very informative “how to” pictures indeed!

  55. DEE: Thank you. Happy New Year to you too! I hope you get to make this chicken dish soon. Let me know how it turns out:) Enjoy!

    NAZARINA: Welcome to my blog. Glad you like the recipe. Off to check your blog:)

  56. This is an excellent recipy. I even tried and found great success.

    Yogindernath
    http://www.softwaretestinggenius.com

  57. hi…farida,i saw ur web site at blogcatolog.came to for visit to ur site.i loved.me too cooking boutiuque cookie,cake and boutique chocolate at http://www.pasturkey.blogspot.com.nice to meet you.i will wait for visit to my blog.by the way from istanbul visited.best wishes….

  58. Dear Farida I want to whish you a wonderful year with blessings!!! xxxGloria

  59. Hi, I am thrilled to have found your site! I’ve never cooked or eaten Azeri food before, but your recipes look so delicious. I have already bookmarked three of your recipes to try this week – Chicken with Eggs, Tandir Bread, and Easy Baklava. I’m so excited to try them!

  60. Missing you! Hope are well!

  61. YOGINDERNATH: Welcome to my blog. I am flattered that you tried my recipe.

    PASTURKEY: Thank you for stopping by. Glad you like it here. I will most certainly visit your blog soon. Cheers to Istanbul!

    GLORIA: Happy New Year to you too, querida amiga!

    STEPHANIE: Welcome to my blog. Thank you for your nice words. You picked three of my favorite recipes to make:) I am sure you’ll do well. Any questions, please ask. Will gladly help.

    AYSEGUL: All is well. I’ve been a little busy these past days, and haven’t been able to blog much. I am coming back soon:)

  62. A great recipe Farida and looks delish.

    Happy New Year

    Rosie x

  63. ROSIE: Thank you. Happy New Year to you too!

  64. love the combo of chicken and eggs. The name is new to me, but the recipe is too good.

  65. Looks yummy!

  66. SHREYA: Yes, the name is mouthful but the taste is good indeed:)

    MYCOOKINGHUT: Thank you.

  67. What a delicious (and simple!) sounding dish! Thanks for sharing.

  68. i found your site from my dear friend pasturkey….alla your work look so delicious…

    from now on i’m going to try from your recipes…

    lots of hugs from turkiye….

  69. LARISSA: Welcome to my blog. Glad you like the recipe. Hope you get to try it sometime.

    SEDA: Merhaba Seda. THank you for stopping by. I am so happy you like it here. Please let me know when you try any of these recipes. I would love to find out how they turn:) Turkiye’ye sevgiler.

  70. Farida, what a great looking dish. I just love all the photos. They look like they belong in a cookbook 😉

  71. CHUCK: Thank you for the compliment:) I take it:) The pictures on your blog are my inspiration – they are all breathtaking, and it is true.

  72. very interesting!!!

  73. GRAZI: Thank you.

  74. My husband made this tonight for dinner — it was FABULOUS!

  75. I had prepared boneless chicken for cook, but had no idea what to do with it expect simply cooking. Now I got an IDEA 🙂 *lamp lights on* Çox Sa?ol ay F?rid?.

  76. My 20-month-old boy hasn’t been keen on eggs… I’m glad that I found this one and I tried it. My boy liked it!!! Thank you for introducing me to azerbaijani cuisine and eggs to my boy!

    BTW, the zebra cake is stunning!!!

    Look forward to more exciting recipes from you!

  77. Thnxs Faride,
    It was very delicious. Looking forward to hear more recipies from you 🙂

  78. I am a Peace Corps Volunteer currently living in Azerbaijan and love this dish. When I go guesting and am served this with rice I am always so happy. Now, I know how to make it myself. thanks

  79. Farida, I was browsing through your lovely blog with my mom, and as soon as she saw this recipe, she begged me to make it for dinner tonight. So that’s what we are having! Toyug Chighirtmasi With some Saffron Rice! Thank you for sharing! xoxo

  80. Hi Farida.I love this and my aunt cooked it once for me and it was so tasty.Thanks for reminding this amasingly easy and tasty dish.
    Happy Novruz!

  81. very deliciousindeed! I cooked it for my husband first time and he liked it so much. he also added that its good for his “breakfast” 🙂 Thank you, Farida!

  82. Farida u r awesome im a student in texas damn im sooooo hungry looking to that picture even makes me full lol thnk u

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