Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Khagina
Afghan eggs cooked into a soft, spiced tomato base, a quick, warming Kabul breakfast.
Afghan · easy · serves 3
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~283 cal · 13g protein · 10g carbs · 22g fat · 2g fiber · 6g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Khagina is a quick, comforting Afghan egg dish, eggs cooked into a soft, spiced base of tomatoes, onion, and green chili, scrambled until just set. Fast and economical, it is a beloved breakfast across Afghanistan and the wider region.
The dish builds a simple savory base of sautéed tomato and onion seasoned with turmeric and chili before the eggs are folded in and cooked gently. It is close kin to the many tomato-egg breakfasts found from the Levant to South Asia.
Scooped up with warm naan across Afghanistan, khagina is quick morning food.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 3
3 tomatoes
1 onion
5 eggs
1 green chili
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
3 tbsp oil
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Soften the onion in the oil, add the cumin seeds and cook until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, chili, and turmeric and cook to a thick base.
2
Lower the heat and pour in the beaten eggs (or tofu).
3
Stir gently until just set and still soft.
4
Fold in most of the fresh cilantro and season with salt to taste.
5
Serve hot, scattered with the remaining cilantro, with warm naan and green tea.
Kabul tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Kabul. The meal is built around bread and tea. Naan is slapped against the wall of a tandoor and carried home long and flat, and green tea is poured before, during and after everything else. Kabuli palaw, rice with carrot and raisin over lamb, is the dish put out for guests rather than the ordinary weekday plate.
🗺️
Afghanistan. Afghan cuisine is the hospitable crossroads of Central and South Asia, famous for Kabuli pulao, rice crowned with lamb, carrots, and raisins. Dumplings (mantu), kebabs, and flatbread reflect Silk Road trade and generous, shared feasts.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Afghanistan
Kabuli PulaoAfghanistan's national dish: steamed rice piled over lamb and crowned with candied carrots and raisins.
MantuSteamed dumplings of spiced beef and onion topped with garlicky yogurt and a lentil-tomato sauce, an Afghan favorite.
FirniA silky ground-rice milk pudding scented with cardamom and rosewater, topped with pistachios, an Afghan celebration sweet.
Browse all Afghanistan recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Afghanistan meal
Qymaq ChaiDrink
FirniDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Khagina?
Afghan eggs cooked into a soft, spiced tomato base, a quick, warming Kabul breakfast.
Where does Khagina come from?
Khagina is a Afghan dish from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Can Khagina be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Khagina recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Khagina safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Khagina take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 3.
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