Egg Biryani is a flavorful, vegetarian meal that you can make to experience the cuisine of India! It is made using basmati rice, hard boiled eggs, and quite a few seasonings. Don’t let the long recipe intimidate you! There are a lot of steps, but they are not complicated and the reward is so worth it in the end.
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Recipe Origins
There are so many different types of Biryani that are popular across Indian heritage. Kolkata Biryani is made with potatoes, rose water and saffron. Memoni Biryani is made with mutton. Thalassery Biryani features fish, raisins, and cashews.
Arguably one of the most popular biryani recipes in India is Hyderabadi Biryani, which comes from Hyderabad, India. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Nizams began ruling Hyderabad and brought with them much of the cuisine from the Mughal Empire.
The typical version of Hyderabadi Biryani is made with goat meat, rice, mint, and coriander. This version of Hyderabadi Biryani is made with hard boiled eggs instead of goat, providing a tasty vegetarian option (this is perfect because India boasts the highest percentage of vegetarians in the world). It is also called Anda Biryani.
How Did Biryani Get its Name?
Biryani actually comes from Persia. The name of the dish comes from the Persian words “Biryan” which means “fried before cooking” and “Birinj” which means “rice”.
Why Make this Recipe
- “Travel” to India: If you LOVE Indian food, try making it at home! This recipe will transport you right to India from your kitchen.
- Vegetarian: This is a meatless meal that is still packed with protein!
- Flavorful: If there’s one thing to be said about Indian food it’s that it is PACKED with flavor! There is no shortage of delicious spices in this recipe. Try it out for something new in your kitchen!
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Rice: You will get the best results with basmati rice for this recipe. I do not recommend making this recipe with other types of rice. Use Basmati rice that comes from India and try to find aged basmati (older than a year) to keep the rice from getting sticky.
- Vegetable Oil: You can also use ghee.
- Cinnamon Sticks: Use a ceylon cinnamon stick if you want a really high quality option. You can read more about ceylon vs cassia cinnamon in my Cinnamon Tea article!
- Cumin Seeds: Whole cumin seeds can be bought in a bulk spice aisle or in a local Indian market!
- Hard Boiled Eggs: For instructions on how to make hard boiled eggs, read this post.
- Ginger: You can grate your ginger by hand or use ginger garlic paste
- Garam Masala: Garam masala is an Indian spice blend made with cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves, cumin, and nutmeg. You can buy it in your spice aisle or make it at home using my How to Make Garam Masala post.
- Yogurt: Use plain, unflavored yogurt for this recipe.
- Herbs: Use fresh cilantro (also called coriander leaves) and fresh mint. You can tear the leaves to make them a bit smaller, but you do not need to chop them.
Tools
- Pots + Lids: Medium to large.
- Tongs
- Mixing Bowls
How to Make this Recipe
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Step 1: Make the Rice
Soak your basmati rice for 30 minutes.
Boil water and add the dry spices (1 bay leaf, 5 cloves, 4 cardamom pods, 4 black peppercorns, 4 cinnamon sticks, and ½ tsp cumin seeds).
When the water comes to a boil, add 1 tbsp oil, 1 ½ tsp salt, and 1 tsp lemon juice.
Add the soaked rice, put the lid back on the pot, and bring the water to a simmer for 5-7 minutes until the rice is 75% of the way cooked. Then drain the water and set the rice aside.
Step 2: Season the Hard Boiled Eggs
Coat the hard boiled eggs with the salt, turmeric, and red chili powder.
Then use a knife to poke little slits into the eggs. Set aside.
Step 3: Fry the Onions & Eggs
Heat the vegetable oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Then add the onions and fry until browned and crispy. Remove the onions and set on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.
Add the hard boiled eggs into the oil and fry until golden brown. Remove them and set aside.
Step 4: Make the Sauce
Add 1 bay leaf, 5 cloves, 4 cardamom pods, 4 pepper, and 4 cinnamon sticks, ½ tsp cumin to the oil in the pot and fry over medium heat until fragrant.
Then add ginger, garlic and 3 chilis. Fry for 2 minutes.
Add 1 tsp red chili, ¼ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp garam masala, and coriander. Mix to combine. Add the diced tomatoes. Mix for 1 minute.
Add the yogurt and the water and mix.
Step 5: Cook it All Together
Wait until the oil separates out, then add the fried onions and eggs back into the pot. Cover and simmer until the oil separates again.
Garnish the bottom of the pot with 2 tbsp fresh coriander and 2 tbsp fresh mint.
Add the rice, then place more fried onions, coriander, and mint leaves on top of the rice.
Cover the pot, then put it over a medium flame for 10 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.
Mix up the contents of the pot, then serve. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Read the whole recipe before starting to cook! There are a lot of steps in this recipe, so it’s good to know what is coming next.
- You can also use sliced onions if you like them better than diced onions.
- There are MANY versions of this recipe, and I watched plenty of YouTube videos of people from India making Egg Biryani. The order of adding the ingredients may change, but all recipes for Egg Biryani call for roughly the same ingredients. Though the steps might be in a different order, you’ll end up with the same result in the end!
- Serve your Egg Biryani alongside some Instant Pot Palak Paneer!
Recipe FAQs
It is no fun to bite into a heaping serving of rice only to chomp down on a whole cardamom pod. Either remove the full spices from the rice before serving it to your guests, or make sure to warn them to pick through the rice and move the whole spices to the side of the plate as they eat (the latter is the more common option in India).
If you can help it, try not to substitute the types of spices used in this recipe! Whole spices hold their flavor a lot better than ground spices, so try to use the whole spices the recipe calls for!
If you can freshly grind your spices, I would highly encourage you to do so.
Leftovers will stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days! You can simply reheat the rice in the microwave.
Did you enjoy this Egg Biryani Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Easy Egg Biryani (Hyderabadi Biryani)
Equipment
- Pots + Lids
- Tongs
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
Rice Ingredients
- 2 cups dry Basmati Rice
- 1 Bay leaf
- 5 Whole Cloves
- 4 Cardamom pods
- 4 Black Peppercorns
- 2 Cinnamon sticks
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Table Salt
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 4 cups water
Hard Boiled Egg Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric
- ½ – 1 tsp Red chili powder
Sauce Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 small Red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cloves
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 black peppercorns
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Ginger, grated
- 1 tsp Garlic, minced
- 2 Green chilis, poked with holes
- ½ – 1 tsp red chili powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ cup Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 tbsp unflavored yogurt
- ½ cup water
- 4 tbsp fresh cilantro, divided
- 4 tbsp fresh mint leaves, divided
Instructions
Rice Instructions
- Soak 2 cups basmati rice for 30 minutes.
- Boil water and add the dry spices (1 bay leaf, 5 cloves, 4 cardamom pods, 4 black peppercorns, 4 cinnamon sticks, and ½ tsp cumin seeds).
- When the water comes to a boil, add 1 tbsp oil, 1 ½ tsp salt, and 1 tsp lemon juice.
- Add the soaked rice, put the lid back on the pot, and bring the water to a simmer for 5-7 minutes until the rice is 75% of the way cooked. Then drain the water and set the rice aside.
Hard Boiled Egg Instructions
- Coat 6 hard boiled eggs with the ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp turmeric, and ½ tsp red chili powder. Then use a knife to poke little slits into the eggs. Set aside.
Sauce Instructions
- Heat ¼ cup vegetable oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Then add the red onions and fry until browned and crispy. Remove the onions and set on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.
- Add the hard boiled eggs into the oil and fry until browned. Remove them and set aside.
- Add 1 bay leaf, 5 cloves, 4 cardamom pods, 4 pepper, and 4 cinnamon sticks, ½ tsp cumin to the oil and fry until fragrant.
- Then add 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tsp garlic and 3 chilis. Fry for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 tsp red chili, ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala, and ½ tsp coriander. Mix to combine. Add ½ cup diced tomatoes. Mix for 1 minute.
- Add 2 tbsp yogurt and ½ cup water and mix.
- Wait until the oil separates out, then add the fried onions and eggs back into the pot. Cover and simmer until the oil separates again.
- Garnish the bottom of the pot with 2 tbsp fresh coriander and 2 tbsp fresh mint.
- Add the rice, then place more fried onions, coriander, and mint on top of the rice.
- Cover the pot, then put it over a medium flame for 10 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.
- Mix up the contents of the pot, then serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Rice: You will get the best results with basmati rice for this recipe. I do not recommend making this recipe with other types of rice. Use Basmati rice that comes from India and try to find aged basmati (older than a year) to keep the rice from getting sticky.
- Vegetable Oil: You can also use ghee.
- Cinnamon Sticks: Use a ceylon cinnamon stick if you want a really high quality option. You can read more about ceylon vs cassia cinnamon in my Cinnamon Tea article!
- Cumin Seeds: Whole cumin seeds can be bought in a bulk spice aisle or in a local Indian market!
- Hard Boiled Eggs: For instructions on how to make hard boiled eggs, read this post.
- Ginger: You can grate your ginger by hand or use ginger garlic paste
- Garam Masala: Garam masala is an Indian spice blend made with cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves, cumin, and nutmeg. You can buy it in your spice aisle or make it at home using my How to Make Garam Masala post.
- Yogurt: Use plain, unflavored yogurt for this recipe.
- Herbs: Use fresh cilantro (also called coriander leaves) and fresh mint. You can tear the leaves to make them a bit smaller, but you do not need to chop them.
- If you are using red onions from the united states, you will probably only need 1 as they are so much bigger than Indian red onions
- Read the whole recipe before starting to cook! There are a lot of steps in this recipe, so it’s good to know what is coming next.
- You can also use sliced onions if you like them better than diced onions.
- There are MANY versions of this recipe, and I watched plenty of YouTube videos of people from India making Egg Biryani. The order of adding the ingredients may change, but all recipes for Egg Biryani call for roughly the same ingredients. Though the steps might be in a different order, you’ll end up with the same result in the end!
- Serve your Egg Biryani alongside some Instant Pot Palak Paneer!
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