Egg biryani is another popular version of quintessential biryani recipe from Indian cuisine. It is a real egg-lovers’ delight!
Last week I watched this egg biryani recipe on television and I was instantly tempted. To add to the excitement, my better half also urged me to prepare egg biryani for lunch or dinner next day. I immediately fell for it since it was a Saturday.
Making biryani is a lengthy procedure and involves multiple separate processes to be combined together at the final stage. If you follow it step by step it won’t seem complex and at the end of it, that magical color and aroma will pay for all your hard work.
Believe me, biryani is a mood-changer. You will love this egg biryani and your loved ones will love you for feeding them this lovely Indian delicacy.
I am not sure if I can call egg biryani Hyderabadi or Lukhnowi, but I can safely call it my homely version of world-famous biryani. The look of this egg biryani will be nowhere lesser than that from your favorite biryani joint.
Since the time we left Hyderabad, I miss Hyderabadi biryani big time. I haven’t yet found out equally tasty biryani here in Bangalore, except in those fine-dining restaurants, but how frequently can you visit those places given this busy life we live!
So, I was planning to master the art of biryani making on my own so that I don’t have to suppress my craving for a good one. This egg biryani turned out to be a real deal and I am sure I am gonna make it again and again. Also, my next take would be the world-famous chicken biryani!
Until then, make this egg biryani at home and please everyone with your culinary skill!
- Eggs – 4 (add more if you like)
- Basmati rice – 2 cups
- Bay leaf – 1
- Black peppercorn – 5
- Onions – 15 small or 12 large
- Ginger paste – 2 tsp
- Garlic paste – 2 tsp
- Tomatoes – 2, medium
- Yogurt – ¼ cup
- Mint leaves – 1 cup (optional)
- Coriander leaves – 1 cup, chopped (optional)
- Bay leaf – 2
- Black cardamom – 2
- Green cardamom – 8
- Cloves – 6
- Cinnamon stick – 2 inch
- Star anise – 1
- Mace – 2 strands
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
- Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
- Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
- Salt to taste (approximately 2 and ½ tsp)
- Oil – 5 tbsp
- Ghee (clarified butter) – 2 tsp (optional)
- Hard boil the eggs. Peel and make an incision with a knife and keep aside.
- Boil lot of water in a deep sauce pan and add 1 bay leaf and 5 black peppercorns into it. Add the washed rice and cook till half done. Drain and set aside. You can spread it on a plate to cool it down a little.
- Slice all the onions thinly. Heat around 3 or 4 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and keeping aside 1 cup of sliced onion, fry the rest till deep brown. Once done, set aside. They will be used later.
- Now take a big and deep pan. Make sure that your pan is big enough to hold rice for 4 adults.
- Heat 5 tbsp of oil in the pan. Temper the oil with bay leaves, black and green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise and mace.
- Fry them for few seconds. Now add that 1 cup sliced onion which was kept aside before.
- Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté till onion turns brown.
- Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and add it to the onions. Fry them till they are soft and melt well with the fried onions.
- Once the onion and tomato mixture is fried thoroughly and starts separating oil, add turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala powder. Sauté it on high heat. Add a splash of water if needed.
- Now beat the curd well in a bowl. Add little water if it is too thick. When the masala starts separating the oil add the beaten yogurt and stir continuously so that the curd doesn’t curdle.
- Sauté it for couple of minutes more. Now lower the heat and add the boil eggs.
- Now take half of the prepared rice and spread a layer of it on top of the eggs.
- Spread a layer of the brown onions [which was fried and kept aside before] using half of the total quantity. If you are also using mint and coriander, spread half of it here.
- Next repeat the layer of the rice with all the remaining quantity. Spread the remaining brown onions and mint-coriander leaves if using.
- Now sprinkle the cardamom powder all over the rice.
- Take a spoonful of ghee and spread it around the edges of the vessel.
- Tightly cover the vessel and keep it on high flame for the first 5 minutes. Lower the heat after 5 minutes and cook on lowest flame for another 5 to 8 minutes. Maintain the time using a watch; do not do guesswork here as your biryani may burn if you are even late by seconds.
- Switch off the heat. Keep it covered for some time.
- Serve hot with raita and salaan.
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