Egg Biryani

Biryani as we all know is a rice based dish with spices and some kind of meat or eggs, or vegetables.This originated in the arabic countries and was brought to India by the Mughals and now is enjoyed widely in Hyderabad, Kashmir, Mumbai and other parts of India.The same technique of layering can be used with chicken or goat biryani.

Preparation time:1 hour 30 minutes

Serves:4-6

Ingredients:

2  tablespoons butter(or ghee)
2 cup long grain basmati Rice
1 teaspoon shahi jeera/black cumin Seeds
4 Cardamom
3 Bay Leafs
5 Cloves
 1 inch cinnamon sticks
1/2 Javetri

Quarter sized Black Stone Flower (commonly known as Biryani Phool/Flower or Kalpasi)

1/2 star anise

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder
1 teaspoon kasoori methi
1 cup Yogurt / curd
1 teaspoon red Chilli powder
1 teaspoon Biryani masala powder
6 Green chillies
1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped

1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped

pinch of black pepper powder

salt to taste
6 boiled Eggs(see procedure here)
pinch of Saffron (or food color)

1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup fried onions

Procedure:

1.Take rice in rice cooker, add 1/2 tablespoon butter, cardamom, bay leaves, shahi jeera, cloves, cinnamon, javetri, kalpasi, anise and cashews with salt and cook with 3 1/2 cups water.

2.Take the remaining butter in a pan, add the onion and green chili and saute for 3- minutes until onions are translucent.

3.Add the ginger garlic paste and turmeric and saute for 1 minute or until the raw smell of garlic goes.

4.Add mint and coriander leaves and saute for 1 minute.

5.Add the yogurt and biryani masala, black pepper powder,kasoori methi, red chili powder and coriander powder and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add salt and mix. Remember you already added salt in the rice so do not add too much salt to the gravy. Check the taste,if you need more spice add more red chili powder, if you need more masala add masala. For an earthier taste add coriander powder.The gravy has to be thick.

6.You can cook the whole eggs with slits in them for 2 minutes in the gravy or you can slice them in half and baste them in the gravy for 2 minutes for the flavors to absorb, remove the eggs from the gravy and keep aside.

7.Warm the milk and dissolve the saffron or color in the milk.

8.Now preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Take a deep oven safe bowl and place a layer of rice,then drizzle the saffron milk over the rice and add a layer of fried onions and a layer of cooked gravy,repeat with another layer of rice, milk and gravy.

9.Seal the dish with an aluminum foil and place in the oven for 1 hour and remove and mix and serve with raitha.

Tips:

If you want to skip the layering,you can directly add the whole spices in the butter in the pan and once the gravy is cooked add the rice and water and cook together.

Biryani is all about balancing flavors, so dont hesitate to taste your gravy for the perfect balance of spices. Each biryani masala powder is different, I prefer the Shan masala brand.Adjust the coriander powder and amount of biryani masala as per the brand you use.