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6 Min
28/10/2025
Before eggs became Instagram favourites, through brunch bowls and reels, they were the nighttime fuel for a majority of India’s crowd. From cabbies, karigars, truck drivers, late-night shift workers, to students, the egg was cheap, quick and filling. From bhurji stalls to anda masala toasts, to egg biryani, and rolls, eggs are always there! Here’s a look at how eggs became the late-night partner for India’s sleepless workforce!
If you scroll through social media today, you will find eggs dressed up in glamorous ways like shakshuka, Turkish cilbir, Korean egg drop sandwiches and many more. However, long before eggs became the loved content on social media, they were a comfort food. Especially, for India’s late-night workers, cab drivers, truck drivers, and even for students who used to study till late and get hungry. A small stall selling anda bhurji with pao or bread was not a luxury but a necessity that fuelled them.
Eggs are one of a kind; they are reasonable, quick to cook, filling enough to keep your hunger away and packed with protein. They can be scrambled into bhurji, folded into rolls, and dropped into curry to enjoy with roti or rice. Most importantly, eggs are available at odd hours when everyone else has retired. In India, where night shifts are an essential part of the economy, egg has easily become the heartthrob of street eating, fuelling millions to sustain.
Egg bhurji was, and still is, the go-to midnight snack. A humble pan, a splash of oil, chopped onions, green chillies, tomatoes, and masala, in minutes, and you have a steaming plate of scrambled eggs. Served with pav, bread or chapati, bhurji is the perfect answer to growling stomachs.
The 2 a.m. bhurji stall is as much about atmosphere as food; the hiss of butter on the tawa, the rhythmic clanging of spatulas, and the mix of cabbies, students, and workers huddled together. The anda bhurji is democratic; it is cheap enough for everyone, satisfying enough to fuel another few hours of work or a long ride home.
For truck drivers navigating highways at night, egg curry is the ultimate comfort dish at roadside dhabas. Unlike meat curries, which took longer and cost more, anda curry is quick to prepare and pocket-friendly. Hard-boiled eggs simmered in spiced gravy are served with rice or tandoori rotis, creating a hearty meal that does not weigh the stomach down before a long drive.
Dhabas along major highways turned egg curry into a staple, sometimes adding regional twists like coconut-based gravies in the south, mustard oil punch in the east, or rich tomato masalas in the north. To this day, for many travellers, a roadside egg curry stop remains a nostalgic part of the journey.
Unique to Gujarat’s late-night food culture, anda ghotala is a dish as chaotic as its name suggests. It combines bhurji, boiled eggs, and masala into a rich, spiced mixture that is eaten with pav. The dish reflects the creativity of street vendors catering to workers who wanted something hearty but different from the usual bhurji.
In the Surat–Ahmedabad belt, anda ghotala stalls remain buzzing well past midnight, serving everyone from textile workers to college students. It shows how the egg can be reimagined in countless ways while still remaining an affordable everyday staple.
Another street favourite, anda masala toast, took the idea of eggs into a snackier, portable form. Vendors whip up spicy masala fillings with eggs and sandwich them between slices of toasted bread. Sometimes, green chutney and a sprinkle of chaat masala are added for extra zing.
Served on the carts or thelas across cities, anda toast is the perfect “chai partner” at night. It is warm, filling, and made in minutes. Its charm lay in its simplicity: no frills, just a toasted slice of comfort food for a worker’s quick break.
What makes the story of eggs and India’s night workers special is not just the variety of dishes, but the culture around them. These meals are more than food; they are fuel, comfort, and community. The cabbie grabbing anda bhurji after a long shift, the trucker stopping for anda curry, the karigar sharing anda toast with colleagues or a group of students sharing the anda ghotala; these are the shared rituals of survival.
Long before brunch menus turned eggs into trendsetters, they were already quietly holding up India’s sleepless economy. From karigar to kitchen, anda proved that sometimes the simplest foods are the ones that carry the biggest stories.
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