No biryani recipe looks simple. There’s usually ample ingredients and steps but believe me, if you systematically follow the recipe, this is one of the simplest dishes to cook. And the only accompaniment you need is a bowl of raita.
The word ‘biryani’ is derived from a Persian word, birian, which means ‘fried before cooking’.One theory states that it originated from birinj the Persian word for rice. Another theory states that it is derived from biryan or beriyan which means “to fry” or “to roast” However the exact origin of the dish is uncertain.
In North India and South India different varieties of biryani developed in the Muslim centers. Such as Kacchae gosht ki biryani, Lucknowi Biryani, Kutchi biryani, or Kolkata biryani. Each of the different regions of biryani has its distinct taste, flavor, and method of cooking.
How can I even begin to explain what a biryani means to India? The singular rice dish which gets the nation into a culinary and cultural frenzy. The debates are endless…and democracy gets chucked out of the window! Is our biryani better or yours?
It requires attention and patience to makes sure that biryani may not end up with over-cooked rice. Also, extra water in cooking makes biryani lose its taste as well as the proteins in it. To serve all these properties, both the meat and the rice should be cooked evenly on a small and spread flame, for a long time. For this, the biryani is prepared in a special utensil called Deg, and more preferably on a wooden stove. You can call it one of the secrets of cooking delicious biryani.
The deg is traditional Indian cookware, a shallow metal pot, generally made of clay, brass, aluminum, copper, and even stainless steel. The bottom is thick to make sure that the meat is not sticking to the base of the vessel, being cooked with little water for a long time.
After layering meat and rice in the utensil, it is then covered with a lid. The lid is then sealed with a water and flour paste. The flour seal makes sure that the little water, we are cooking with, doesn’t escape the vessel. This method is called Dum-Pukht, borrowed from Awadh cuisine. It is also important to leave around 1/4th of the vessel free after layering the rice and meat, for the steam to collect and aid in cooking.
Though you can find plenty of recipes for biryani all across the web, I decided to post egg biryani with potatoes. I loved this dish and wanted it to be a part of my collection here.
Anda Biryani is a flavorful and delicious Indian rice preparation where rice is cooked with a spicy egg layer
The best thing about this egg biryani is that it is the perfect crossover between vegetarian and non-vegetarian. More people are eggetarian these days and this is a delicious way to enjoy it.
The longer the grain, the better would be the biryani. I always choose the rice which is extra-long and stands out as individual grains.
So let’s get cooking this delicious, aromatic, and flavourful egg biryani!
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 50 mins
Level: Intermediate
Serving: 4
Eggetarian
Ingredients
For Biryani Rice
- Long grain Basmati rice – 3 cups
- Salt – 2 teaspoon
- Green cardamom – 3-4 nos
- Big cardamom – 1 no
- Bay leaf – 2 nos
- Cinnamon – 1 no (small size)
- Cloves – 2-3 nos
For the Masala
- Eggs – 8 nos
- Vinegar – 1 tablespoon
- Oil – 2 tablespoon
- Ghee – 3 tablespoon
- Onion (sliced) – 3 cups
- Green chili (Slit into halves) – 3 nos
- Ginger garlic paste – 2 teaspoon
- Tomato (Chopped) – 1 cup
- Coriander powder – 2 teaspoon
- Cumin seed – 1 teaspoon
- Kashmiri red chili powder – 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
- Garam masala powder – 1 teaspoon
- Curd – 1/2 cup
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – for frying eggs
- Boiled Potato (cut into half) – 3 nos
For layering
- Saffron (soaked in 1/4 cup milk) – 1 pinch
- Coriander (Chopped) – 2 tablespoon
- Mint (Chopped) – 2 tablespoon
- Ginger (julienne) – 1 inch (7-8 nos)
- Kewda water – 1 teaspoon
- Fried Cashew nuts – 10-12 nos
Method
- Heat water on high heat and bring to boil. Add vinegar and salt.
- Once the water is at a rolling boil, reduce the heat, gently add the eggs and cover the pot with the lid.
- After 12 minutes remove the eggs and keep in cold water. Peel it gently. Keep aside.
- Wash basmati rice 2-3 times in running water, and then soak in water for 30 mins.
- Heat oil in a pan. Golden fry the 1 cup sliced onions and keep aside.
- Gently prick the boiled eggs and potatoes with a toothpick or fork all over.
- Marinate with a pinch of turmeric powder, salt, and Kashmiri chilly powder. It helps to increase the taste of the egg and potatoes.
- Golden brown the egg from all the sides. Be careful while frying the eggs as they splatter a lot. Remove and keep aside.
- Golden fry the potatoes and keep them aside.
- Heat oil and desi ghee in deg or heavy bottom pan.
- Add cumin seed and crackle it.
- Add remaining sliced onion and cook till translucent.
- Add slit green chilies and ginger-garlic paste and cook for a while.
- Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder along with curd and little water and cook till the oil starts to separate from the sides.
- Add tomatoes and cook them completely.
- Add eggs and potatoes. Stir them carefully and cook for a few mins.
- Add little water if required, the masala should not be too dry at this stage.
- Meanwhile, heat enough water in a deep vessel. Add salt and bouquet of garam masala.
- Add rice, stir gently, and cook till rice is 80-85% done.
- Drain the rice and layer it over the egg masala.
- Sprinkle saffron soaked in milk, browned onions, coriander, mint, julienne ginger, fried cashew nuts on top. Sprinkle kewda water.
- Cover the lid of the deg tightly and cook on very low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the lid of the deg and give the Biryani a gentle mix.
- Transfer the egg biryani in a serving bowl. Garnish with fresh coriander, mint leaves, julienne ginger, fried onions, and fried cashew nuts.
- Serve hot with burani raita