Persian Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

I am fortunate to work at a place where the manager of the cafeteria is a Moroccan native. Our mutual love of food has resulted in endless exchange of recipes, spices and samplings. (Indeed, some of the items now served in the cafeteria are recipes from this site.) One one occasion, I was lucky enough to be able to share in the lunch he prepared for the staff. I love eggs and his were just amazing. This recipe from World Vegetarian seems like a close approximate - though I know his version included a generous bit of cumin and cilantro. I'm posting the original here and will begin to tinker. Once perfected, I'll post that version as a second recipe. Will experiment to see if this works as well with canned tomatoes.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil or 1 1⁄2 tablespoons butter
• 1  small onion, finely chopped
• 1  garlic clove, finely chopped
• 4 -5  medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
•  salt (to taste)
•  pepper (to taste)
• 4  eggs
• 1  tablespoon chives, finely chopped

Directions

1. Put the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic. Stir-fry for a minute, then reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking vegetables for 3 or 4 minutes so that the onion becomes translucent with a little color around the edges.
2. Add the tomatoes and simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Once the sauce has cooked, use the back of a spoon to create 4 rounded wells, one in each quarter of the pan. Carefully break each egg and place into each of the hollows.
4. Cover pan with a lid leaving it partially open to allow some heat and moisture to escape. Cook until eggs reach your preferred level of doneness.
5. Carefully scoop egg with some sauce onto serving plates. Garnish with chives.
6. Serve with warmed pita or other flatbread of choice.
7. •Variation: You can make this a little spicier, add a small chili to the onions. If you do so, you may want to omit the chives and instead garnish with finely chopped parsley.