Egg Biryani

An easy and tasty biryani recipe.


Recipe source  -  Veena's Curryworld

Ingredients

• Ghee
• Eggs  -  5 nos

For rice

• Basmathi/Kaima rice  -  3 cups
• Cloves  -  6 pods
• Cinammon  -  2 small sticks
• Cardamom  -  3 pods
• Fennel seeds  -  a pinch
• Star anise  -  a small piece
• Salt  -   to taste
• Lemon juice  -  1tsp

For gravy

• Onions  -   4 medium sized ones
• Shallots  -  25 nos
• Garlic  -   8 nos
• Ginger  -   1 1/2 inch piece
• Green chillies  -  3 nos
• Tomato  -   2 nos (medium sizes)
• Coriander leaves  -  a handful
• Mint leaves  -   half a handful
• Curd  -   1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder  - 1/4 tsp
• Chilly powder  -   1 tsp
• Biriyani powder/ Garam masala  -   3/4 tsp
• Salt  -   to taste

For garnish

• Onion  -  1 small
• Cashew  -  50 gm
• Raisins  -  50 gm
• Coriander and mint leaves  -   as desired

Method

• Boil 4 eggs and keep aside. Scramble the remaining one and keep aside. 
• Wash and drain the rice. Measure 1 3/4 cup water for each cup of rice.
• Add these to a pressure cooker, add salt to taste. Add rest of the ingredients in the list 'for rice' to this. Add 2 tblespoons of ghee. 
• Cover with lid and keep on high flame. Do not put the weight. When heavy steam starts coming through the nozzle, note the time. After 5 minutes put on the weight and switch off the flame.
• When the cooker cools, open it and fluff the rice
• Heat a pan, add a tablespoon of ghee to it. Fry cashews and raisins. In the same ghee fry thinly sliced onions till golden brown. Set aside.
• Into the same pan add one more tablespoon of ghee. Crush together shallots, garlic,ginger and green chillies, add this to ghee and saute till raw smell leaves.
• Now add onions and fry till golden brown. Add the masalas and saute till raw smell leaves. Add tomatoes and cook covered till the tomatoes become mushy.
• Take a little chashews, raisins and onions from those set aside for garnish and add to this.
• Finally add curd, coriander leaves and mint leaves, mix well.
• Prick the boiled eggs with fork on all sides and add to this, mix well add 2 cups of boiling water and salt to taste. Cook covered till the gravy becomes thick. Add the scrambled egg and switch of the flame.
• Now take a heavy bottom vessel, grease all sides with ghee. Start layering rice, gravy and garnish, starting with gravy and ending with rice, and some garnish on top of it. Seal with aluminium foil and put on the lid. Place this on a hot tawa, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
• Serve hot with pickle and raitha.

Notes

• Vary the quantity of ghee to your choice.
• Some basmathi rice may require double quantity of water, ie 2 cups water for each cup of rice. You can soak the basmathi rice for 20 to 30 minutes.