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!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://flavorquotient.com/2024/05/egg-biryani-restaurant-style/