India, Aug. 29 -- Do you know anyone who is not encumbered by some handicap (an allergy to eggs, unthinking vegetarianism etc) who does not love an omelette? I sure as hell don't. And because a basic omelette is one of those dishes that tastes good even if you screw up the cooking, it is often the safest dish to order. I remember that Ajmer in the early 1970s was not exactly the gourmet capital of India. But when my friends and I would sneak out of boarding school and look for an escape from dire school food, we would end up at Ajmer Junction railway station. We would head for the restaurant (on Platform 1, if I recall correctly) and order the masala omelette. Those omelettes have lingered in my memory and made anything that has an omelette in it an instant favourite: Masala omelette sandwiches, Sri Lankan omelette curry and kathi rolls with extra anda. The thing about a masala omelette is that even if the eggs are industrial and tasteless (which in my school days they were not) the addition of chilli, tomato, and onion makes up for any taste deficiency. But as I was to discover, when I moved beyond Platform 1 and went out into the world, nearly every country has its own classic omelette. Here are some of my favourites: The French omelette. In almost every way, this is the exact opposite of the masala omelettes of my childhood. Our omelettes are idiot-proof when it comes to cooking them. A French omelette is one of the most difficult dishes for a chef to master. We rely on chilli, tomatoes etc. A French omelette can have only three ingredients: Eggs, butter and salt. The making of the dish is extremely difficult because the chef must learn how to control temperature and must master the hand movements integral to its making. The omelette must be soft inside and have a skin that is firm but evenly cooked. If there are brown bits, the chef must throw it out and start again. In my experience, very few Indian chefs get the technique right. The Japanese omelette. They are as difficult to make as French omelettes. The classic tamagoyaki has several layers of egg, and the only version you are likely to see is the simpler facsimile that is used as a topping for nigiri sushi. Tamagoyaki has a complex umami flavour which comes from the soya sauce and dashi (stock), which are often added along with such optional flavourings as sake and mirin rice wine. The real thing, made properly, is hard to find in India. The Korean omelette. Korea and Japan have a fraught history so Koreans don't like being told that their omelettes are derived from Japan. While the Japanese focus on the flavour of eggs, Koreans will add seaweed and scallions. Of particular contention is the Tornado omelette, which has acquired global fame thanks to Instagram videos of the process of making it. You need to keep using chopsticks to twist the egg mixture into a swirling vortex in the pan. The Japanese say that this is a variation on omurice, a Japanese dish of omelette and rice. This is almost certainly unfair to the Koreans, who say they created the swirling technique. The Thai omelette. The Thais deep fry their omelettes so that they are crisp at the edges. The flavour comes from fish sauce, which may caramelise during cooking and change the colour of the omelette. At Thai restaurants, they like to stuff the omelettes with crab meat, though other flavourings are available (minced pork, for instance). We shallow-fry Thai omelettes at home and avoid the crab. They taste just as good. The Spanish omelette. It's basically an omelette with potatoes. But that may be playing down what the Spanish do with eggs, because their omelettes are essentially egg-and-potato pies that you can eat hot or cold. In many casual restaurants in Spain, the omelette will be kept at the counter and they will cut a slice for you. It's not easy to create a deep pie (that will hold its shape when cold) on a frying pan, and the first few times you make the omelette, the process of flipping it so that both sides are cooked can be traumatic. The potatoes cannot be raw and it may take a while to cook them before you even begin to make the omelette. Spanish chef Ferran Adria has suggested that home cooks should just use potato crisps (what the Americans call chips and what we used to call wafers). But this suggestion kicked up a storm in Spain when he made it. Favourites. I love all omelettes. But honestly, a masala omelette is still my all-time favourite, even if I am not eating it on Platform 1....