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5 from 3 votes

Easy Egg Biryani (Hyderabadi Biryani)

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.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Rice Soaking Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 794kcal

Ingredients

Rice Ingredients

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 (Use code FF20 for 20% off)
  • 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

Recipe Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
  • 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!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 794kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 281mg | Sodium: 369mg | Potassium: 485mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1353IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 174mg | Iron: 4mg