Egg Biryani

Here is the Recipe for an Easy to Prepare and Tasty Egg Biriyani. I usually make this when some unexpected guest drops in, as this can be prepared within no time.

The recipe given below will serve 4 people.

Ingredients

1. Long grain Basmati rice – 2 cups
2. Onions, thinly sliced – 2 medium sized
3. Tomatoes, chopped – 2 large
4. Eggs – 4
5. Bay leaves – 2
6. Ginger Paste – 1 tsp
7. Garlic Paste – 2 tsp
8. Slit Green Chillies – 4 nos
9. Cooking oil – 4 to 5 tbsp
10. Cilantro, chopped – 1/4 cup
11. Mint leaves, chopped – 1/4 cup
12. Lemon – Half of 1 small lemon
13. Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your Spice Tolerance)
14. Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp
15. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
16. Biriyani Masala Powder – 2 to 3 tsp
17. Salt – to taste
18. Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
19. Oil – 3 tbsp

Method

1. Boil the eggs for about 10-12 minutes on medium low flame till they are hard boiled. (You can add a little salt while boiling the eggs to prevent it from cracking.)
2. Peel the egg shells and cut each egg into 2 halves and keep it aside.
3. Boil the Basmati rice in 6 cups of water with a little salt, 1/2 tsp biryani masala and 1 tsp oil, till each grain is separate and almost cooked but not fully cooked. (Add more water, if needed so that the rice doesn’t stick together). The biriyani masala will impart a good aroma to the rice. Drain excess water if any and keep it aside.
4. Heat a big non stick pan or wok and add 3 tablespoons of oil.
5. Add onions and saute till they are translucent.
6. Add the slit green chillies, bay leaves, 1 tsp ginger paste and 2 tsp garlic paste along with some salt and stir fry for a minute.
7. Add the chopped cilantro and mint leaves and mix well.
8. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute till it is cooked and mashed.
9. Now add 2 tsp of biriyani masala powder, 1 tsp chilly powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1 tbsp coriander powder and stir fry for a minute. Add little water to form a gravy.
10. Sprinkle lemon juice and mix well.
11. Reduce heat and stir in the rice gently, till the rice is evenly coated with the gravy.
12. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the eggs and add it to the rice and keep it covered for a five minutes.
13. Serve this Egg Biriyani with Raitha, Pickle and Pappadam.

Biriyani Masala Ingredients

If you are in a hurry, you can use any good biriyani masala powder which is readily available like Eastern Biriyani Masala. Generally, the ingredients of such ready made masala powders would be the following: Coriander, Bay Leaf, Chilly, Black Pepper, Turmeric, Aniseed, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Salt, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cumin.

But, I prefer using home made ground Biryani masala.

You can grind the following ingredients at home:-

1. Cloves (Gramboo) – 10
2. Green Cardamom (Elakka) –  4
3. Cinnamon stick (Patta/Karukapatta) – 4 pieces of 1” inch length each
4. Nutmeg (Jaathikka) – 1/2 tsp grated
5. Mace (JaathiPoo) – 1
6. Star Anise (Thakkolam/Nakshathra Poo) – 2
7. Fennel seeds (Perinjeerakam) – 2 tsp
8. Cumin seeds (Jeerakam) – 1 tsp
9. Bay Leaves (Karuva Ela) – 4