Egg biryani with raita
Boiled eggs, fried until blistered and turned in an onion, tomato and curd masala, then layered with half-cooked basmati, mint and crisp fried onions and finished on dum: the biryani of egg-eating homes, cheaper than chicken and just as festive, with a cool cucumber and onion raita. Many homes make it in one pot or in the pressure cooker instead, and egg pulao is the milder everyday cousin.
- 1 h 15Time
- 57 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 28 gprotein per portion
- 850kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 400 gRice, basmati
- 8Eggs
- 3 mlTurmeric
- 1 ½ tspRed chilli powder
- to tasteSalt
- 4 tbspRefined oil
- 3Onions, thinly sliced
- 3Green chillies, slit
- 2Tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbspGinger-garlic paste
- 1 tbspBiryani masala
- 150 gCurd, whisked
- 15 gMint, leaves picked
- 15 gCoriander leaves, chopped
- 2Bay leaves
- 2 gCinnamon, a 5 cm piece of stick
- 4Cloves
- 1 gCardamom, 4 green pods
- 1 tspCumin, seeds (or shahi jeera)
- 2 tbspGhee
On the side
- 400 gCurd, for the raita
- ½Cucumber, grated
- ½Onion, finely chopped, for the raita
- 3 mlCumin, roasted and ground
Method
- Gently wash the rice in three changes of water and leave it to soak in fresh water.
- Let the rice soak for 30 minutes while you boil the eggs and fry the onions.
- Put the eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes, then cool them in cold water.
- Thinly slice the onions, slit the green chillies and chop the tomatoes.
- Heat three-quarters of the oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan and fry the onions on medium heat, stirring often, until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Lift about half of them out onto a plate, leaving the rest in the pan.
- Peel the eggs and make a few shallow slits in each. Heat the rest of the oil in a small kadai with a pinch each of the turmeric and red chilli powder and a little salt, and fry the eggs for 2 minutes, rolling them around, until lightly blistered.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies to the onions in the pan and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes, the rest of the turmeric and red chilli powder, the biryani masala and salt, and cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the curd and half the mint and coriander leaves and cook for 3 minutes, until the oil separates. Add the eggs and turn them in the masala.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil with plenty of salt, the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and cumin. Drain the rice, add it and boil for 5–6 minutes, until about 70% cooked: the grains break between your fingers but still have a firm core. Drain.
- Spread the rice evenly over the eggs. Scatter over the fried onions from the plate and the rest of the mint and coriander leaves, and drizzle over the ghee.
- Cover tightly (seal the lid with foil or a strip of dough) and leave the biryani on dum over the lowest heat, with a tawa under the pan, for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the raita: whisk the curd with a little salt and stir in the cucumber, onion and roasted cumin powder. Keep it in the fridge.
- Turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Mix gently from the side with a flat spoon so the layers show, and serve with the raita.
