Before getting into the debate of whether meatless biryani exists or not, first let’s dig into this stunning egg biryani which has all the quintessential biryani flavors and can be simply described as mind-blowing!
It’s egg biryani day today and I can’t be happier enough! Whenever I want to make something a little fancy at home, but with minimal effort, this egg biryani is the go to dish!
If you are a biryani lover, then I am sure you have already tried and tasted all possible variations of biryanis available in restaurants and takeaways! So why not try making this flagship dish at home?
Today it’s time for everyone’s favorite egg biryani which has the goodness of flavorful biryani but with much less hassle! It takes less than half the time of making a chicken biryani and is perfect for a party main course!
What is egg biryani?
Egg biryani is the first cousin of your very own chicken biryani. It has exactly the same flavors of biryani rice as chicken biryani; only the source of protein being different.
The eggs in egg biryani are boiled, cut into halves and then pan fried with a pinch of turmeric to give them that golden glow.
To my homemade egg biryani, I added the stunning color variations to the rice grains to give it that restaurant vibe, but adding color is optional.
You may also add saffron strands to give the natural golden glow. Just grind a pinch of saffron strands in a mortar and pestle; then add a couple of ice cubes and a couple teaspoons of water.
Let the saffron sit in the ice water and release its color completely. Then drizzle this color over the assembled egg biryani at step 19 & 21, substituting the colored milk.
Ingredients for egg biryani
Eggs: It goes without saying that eggs are the star of this show! Use your favorite eggs and try to use the freshest ones possible as that would give you maximum taste.
Basmati rice: This is a must for making egg biryani or any biryani for that matter! Basmati rice absorbs flavors like nothing else and you can’t get that restaurant-like taste & look with any other variety of rice.
My recommended brand of Basmati rice can be found here!
Whole spices: That mind-blowing flavors of biryani that makes you hungry each time you open a biryani pot is the result of the array of whole spices which release their flavors in hot ghee while tempering.
You will need a good amount of cloves, green & black cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and star anise.
Powdered spices: The usual powdered spices are used to add more flavors to the biryani rice – turmeric, cumin, coriander and Kashmiri red chilli powder. These spices are sautéed along with onion & aromatics and curd to impart their maximum flavors to the egg biryani.
Garam masala: For a final touch of flavor, sprinkle garam masala, the homemade one, over the assembled egg biryani.
Onion: This is an integral part of any biryani as you will need fried brown onions, also called barista, which adds a distinct flavor to the rice. You will need a generous amount of sliced onions for making the barista and a small portion of onion to make the spice mixture before assembling the rice.
Tomato: Couple of medium tomatoes, finely chopped, is what you need in your egg biryani!
Aromatics: No Indian recipe is complete without the quintessential aromatics i.e. ginger and garlic. A generous amount of ginger and garlic paste to be added while sauteing onion.
Curd: You will not need a large amount of curd or yogurt; just ¼ of a cup to cook the powdered spices in it and bring out their utmost flavors.
Food color: This one is optional but for achieving that restaurant style egg biryani look, you need to add a tiny amount of food color. I used a mix of red and yellow food color dissolved in a small amount of milk which adds different shades of orange to the rice grains when drizzled randomly.
How to make egg biryani?
Step 1: First boil the eggs. Do not hard boil them, neither too soft boil; sweet spot is the medium boil where the yolk is neither runny nor grey. Once done, peel them and cut each into half.
Step 2: Then heat a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan, sprinkle a pinch of turmeric powder over the eggs and shallow fry the eggs in oil for just a minute so that a beautiful golden color is developed on both sides of the eggs. Take them out on a plate and set aside.
Step 3: Next take a deep frying kadai/wok and add oil to it for deep frying the sliced onion. You have to make fried brown onions from ¾ portion of the sliced onions; rest will be used later.
Step 4: Once the oil is moderately hot, add ¾ of the sliced onions and reserve the rest. Deep fry the onions on medium-low until they turn light golden brown.
Pro tip: Do not overcook the onions in oil as they continue to cook even after taking out of the oil and will turn too dark.
Step 5: Once the onions are light golden, take them out using a slotted spoon or spider and place on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper to soak up excess oil. Set aside.
Step 6: Now boil water in a large saucepan and add about a teaspoon of salt, 1 bay leaf and half a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns.
Step 7: Once the water starts to boil, add the washed basmati rice to it. Boil the rice in water until it is ¾ done. Do not overcook!
Pro tip: Basmati rice cooks very fast, in about 10 minutes. So keep a close eye on it and do not overcook it whatsoever. Then your biryani will not turn out to be fluffy & flavorful.
Step 8: Transfer the cooked rice to a colander or a perforated bowl to drain out the water. Then pour cold water over the rice to stop the cooking from remaining heat keeping the rice fluffy and the grains separated.
Step 9: Now heat a large heavy bottomed pan and add ghee to it. Make sure that the pan is big enough to hold all the cooked rice leaving a gap of at least 2 inches on top.
Step 10: Once the ghee is hot, temper it with bay leaf, green & black cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise.
Step 11: Sauté the whole spices in ghee for a minute on low flame until they become fragrant. Then add the remaining ¼ of sliced onion to the pan and sauté them on medium flame.
Step 12: Once the onions turn translucent after about 6 to 8 minutes, add sliced green chillies, ginger paste and garlic paste. Stir them in with the onions and sauté until the raw smell of aromatics is gone.
Step 13: Next add the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking them with onion for a good 5 minutes on low flame until the tomatoes are all soft and melted down. You may add a dash of salt to quicken the process.
Step 14: It’s time to add the spices and curd/yogurt. Add all the powdered spices except garam masala & the beaten curd and sauté them on medium flame for 6 to 7 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and oil starts to release.
Step 15: At this stage, first switch off the flame. Then take out half of the prepared onion mixture from the pot and reserve in a bowl.
Step 16: Now it’s time to assemble the egg biryani. Spread the remaining onion and spice mixture evenly that was left in the pan at the bottom of the same pan. Then add half of the cooked rice over it by spreading it evenly all over the pan.
Step 17: Now sprinkle half of the fried brown onions over the rice spreading evenly all over. Then sprinkle half of the garam masala and half of the salt over the rice. Do not try to mix anything, just keep assembling.
Step 18: If you are using food color, add both red and yellow food color to the milk in a small bowl and mix it evenly so that no lump of color is left in the milk.
Step 19: Drizzle half of the colored milk to the biryani pot in a scattered way so that it colors the rice unevenly making it a visual treat!
Step 20: Now add the reserved onion-spice mixture that was taken out in a bowl over the layer of rice, spreading it as evenly as you can.
Step 21: Then spread out the remaining cooked rice evenly on top and repeat the layering process with remaining fried brown onion, salt & garam masala and the colored milk. Again, do not mix anything.
Step 22: Finally place the fried halved eggs over the rice side by side. Your egg biryani assembly is ready.
Step 23: Now cover the biryani pot with a tight fitting lid and switch on the flame. Keep the flame at its lowest and let the egg biryani cook in the pot for about 5 to 6 minutes.
Pro tip: Do not leave the biryani pot over flame for more than the given time above as then the rice will start burning at the bottom.
Step 24: Switch off the flame after 5 to 6 minutes and let the egg biryani rest for another 10-15 minutes before serving to allow all the flavors to mingle among each other.
Step 25: You are ready to enjoy your egg biryani! Serve it warm with raita and your favorite side dish!
More delicious rice recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Eggs – 4-6
- Onions – 4, large, thinly sliced
- Basmati rice – 1 & ½ cups
- Bay leaf – 1
- Black peppercorn – ½ tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Ghee/clarified butter – 4 tbsp
- Bay leaf – 2
- Black cardamom – 2
- Green cardamom – 8
- Cloves – 6
- Cinnamon stick – 2 inch
- Star anise – 1
- Ginger paste – 2 tbsp
- Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
- Tomatoes – 2, medium, finely chopped
- Green chilli – 4 to 5, sliced lengthwise
- Curd/yogurt – ¼ cup, beaten until smooth
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander powder – 2 tsp
- Cumin powder – 2 tsp
- Kashmiri red chilli powder – ½ tsp
- Garam masala – 1 tsp
- Red and yellow food color - ¼ tsp each (optional)
- Milk - ¼ cup, if using food color
- Salt to taste (approximately 2 tsp)
- First boil the eggs. Do not hard boil them, neither too soft boil; sweet spot is the medium boil where the yolk is neither runny nor gray. Once done, peel them and cut each into half.
- Then heat a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan, sprinkle a pinch of turmeric powder over the eggs and shallow fry the eggs in oil for just a minute so that a beautiful golden color is developed on both sides of the eggs. Take them out on a plate and set aside.
- Next take a deep frying kadai/wok and add oil to it for deep frying the sliced onion. You have to make fried brown onions from ¾ portion of the sliced onions; rest will be used later.
- Once the oil is moderately hot, add ¾ of the sliced onions and reserve the rest. Deep fry the onions on medium-low until they turn light golden brown.
- Once the onions are light golden, take them out using a slotted spoon or spider and place on a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper to soak up excess oil. Set aside.
- Now boil water in a large saucepan and add about a teaspoon of salt, 1 bay leaf and half a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns.
- Once the water starts to boil, add the washed basmati rice to it. Boil the rice in water until it is ¾ done. Do not overcook!
- Transfer the cooked rice to a colander or a perforated bowl to drain out the water. Then pour cold water over the rice to stop the cooking from remaining heat keeping the rice fluffy and the grains separated.
- Now heat a large heavy bottomed pan and add ghee to it. Make sure that the pan is big enough to hold all the cooked rice leaving a gap of at least 2 inches on top.
- Once the ghee is hot, temper it with bay leaf, green & black cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise.
- Sauté the whole spices in ghee for a minute on low flame until they become fragrant. Then add the remaining ¼ of sliced onion to the pan and sauté them on medium flame.
- Once the onions turn translucent after about 6 to 8 minutes, add sliced green chillies, ginger paste and garlic paste. Stir them in with the onions and sauté until the raw smell of aromatics is gone.
- Next add the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking them with onion for a good 5 minutes on low flame until the tomatoes are all soft and melted down. You may add a dash of salt to quicken the process.
- It’s time to add the spices and curd/yogurt. Add all the powdered spices except garam masala & the beaten curd and sauté them on medium flame for 6 to 7 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and oil starts to release.
- At this stage, first switch off the flame. Then take out half of the prepared onion mixture from the pot and reserve in a bowl.
- Now it’s time to assemble the egg biryani. Spread the remaining onion and spice mixture evenly that was left in the pan at the bottom of the same pan. Then add half of the cooked rice over it by spreading it evenly all over the pan.
- Now sprinkle half of the fried brown onions over the rice spreading evenly all over. Then sprinkle half of the garam masala and half of the salt over the rice. Do not try to mix anything, just keep assembling.
- If you are using food color, add both red and yellow food color to the milk in a small bowl and mix it evenly so that no lump of color is left in the milk.
- Drizzle half of the colored milk to the biryani pot in a scattered way so that it colors the rice unevenly making it a visual treat!
- Now add the reserved onion-spice mixture that was taken out in a bowl over the layer of rice, spreading it as evenly as you can.
- Then spread out the remaining cooked rice evenly on top and repeat the layering process with remaining fried brown onion, salt & garam masala and the colored milk. Again, do not mix anything.
- Finally place the fried halved eggs over the rice side by side. Your egg biryani assembly is ready.
- Now cover the biryani pot with a tight fitting lid and switch on the flame. Keep the flame at its lowest and let the egg biryani cook in the pot for about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Switch off the flame after 5 to 6 minutes and let the egg biryani rest for another 10-15 minutes before serving to allow all the flavors to mingle among each other.
- You are ready to enjoy your egg biryani! Serve it warm with raita and your favorite side dish! Enjoy!
Nancy says
wow my favorite briyani recipes.i cook briyani at my home came well.all of them loved briyani