Egg dum biryani

The word Biryani brings such a delight in our face. Once we start eating Biryani , our taste buds keep on craving for more and more, of course until our tummy shouts "no more, please". In this post I'm sharing Egg dum Biryani recipe. Though it's not a new recipe, I have shared my way of preparing Egg biryani here. This recipe has recently become a hit in my family and more often craved for. As we all know, Biryani preparation is time consuming. But the end product is really worth the effort. As it is an elaborate recipe, I have written it in 4 steps -  Preparing the eggs, Marination, Rice preparation and assembling the biryani.  So let's get into making Egg dum biryani.

1. Preparing the eggs:

Ingredients : 

• Eggs - 4, boiled and peeled
• Oil - 2 tsp 
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp 
• Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method: 

• Poke the boiled eggs 5 to 6 times with a toothpick . Take care not to crack the eggs.
  
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder to it.
  
  
  
• Mix it well and then add boiled eggs to it and toss around for 2 - 3 minutes. This gives a rough texture to the eggs.
  
• Remove the eggs from the pan into a plate.
  

2. Marination:

Ingredients:

• Bay leaves - 2
• Green Cardamom - 2
• Black Cardamom - 1
• Cinnamon - 1" piece
• Cloves - 4
• Shahi jeera - 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
• Star anise - 1
• Stone flower - 1 small piece
• Mace ( javitri) - 1 whole
• Green chillies - 2 to 3, slit
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
• Mint leaves - 2 tablespoons, chopped finely
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder -1 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder -1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder -1/4 teaspoon
• Yoghurt - 1/4 cup
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Fried Onions - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1 tsp
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Method:

Mix all the ingredients well without damaging the eggs. Cover it with a plastic wrap and leave for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight ( in the refrigerator).
This step makes the eggs more flavorful in the biryani.

3. Rice preparation:

 Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 1.5 cups
• Salt - 2 tsps
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Peppercorns - 4-5
• Cloves -2 
• Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
• Water - 3.5 cups

Method :

• Wash the rice well and soak it for at least half an hour.
• Take a large cooking pot and add water to it.
• Add the whole spices, close the pot with a lid. Bring the water to boil and check the salt. The water has to be little salty.
  
• Drain the water from soaked rice and add it to the boiling water.
• Let the rice cook until it is around 80% done. It means the rice has to be still little firm.
• Now, remove the rice from heat and drain the water from cooked rice.
  

4. Assembling the rice and marinated eggs:

Ingredients:

• Saffron strands - 6 to 8, immersed in 2 tbsp of  warm milk
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
• Mint leaves - 2 tbsp chopped finely
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Fried onions - 2 tbsp
• Red food color - 1/4 tsp, dissolved in 1 tbsp water ( optional)

Method: 

• Take a big pot in which you want to cook the biryani. 
• First, add the marinated eggs along with all the masalas. 
  
• Then add the cooked rice on top of it. Top it with chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves and fried onions.
  
• Add 1 tbsp of ghee and the saffron milk. 
  
• If desired, add red color dissolved in milk or water. This gives a nice color to the biryani.
• Close the pot with a tight lid. A clean, thick kitchen towel ( or a muslin cloth) can be spread over the pot and tied around. This is then closed with a lid so that air doesn't enter/ leave the pot. If possible, keep a heavy object on the lid to make it air tight. Traditionally, the pot is sealed along with the lid using wheat flour dough.
• Initially keep the heat on high for 2 to 3  minutes and then reduce the heat to the lowest. Let it cook for 15 to 20 minutes
• Check after 20 minutes if the rice is ready. If not, sprinkle 1 tbsp of water and close again for 5 minutes.
• Egg dum biryani is now ready to serve. Serve it with any Salan or raitha of your choice.
  

So, this was the recipe of Egg dum biryani. It seems too much of a process. But once the marination is done, on the previous night, it's just cooking the rice and assembling the biryani layers and slow cooking. I am sure you are going to really enjoy the taste of eggs in this recipe. They will be so flavorful. Every bit of effort put into this homemade, healthy and tasty Egg biryani is worth it. Please do give it a try and let me know in the comments section how it turned out for you..