Egg biryani, a fragrant and mildly spiced aromatic rice dish to serve on special occasions.
The rice is cooked in a wet homemade biryani masala with yoghurt and spices that make the base of this rice recipe.
Garnished with fried caramelised onions, raisins, this aromatic egg biryani can be served as a main dish.

What to serve with egg biryani.

• Biryani is quite a heavy meal. I would suggest keeping everything else as simple as possible, with one or two curries that complement the egg biryani.
• Serve some sliced tomatoes, cucumber and fresh salad leaves.
• Any type of raita that includes onions, mint, and tomatoes.
• Serve with grilled chicken or fish.
• Here are a few other curries that go well with the egg biryani.
  • Sri Lankan Malay pickle.
  • Brinjal moju.
  • Brinjal pahi
  • Sri Lankan Potato Curry (ala kiri hodi).
  • Chettinad chicken curry
  • Beef korma(slow-cooked Indian beef curry).

If you want to create your own unique menu, just browse through the blog, and you’ll find recipes you can pair with the egg biryani.

Tips and questions to cook the egg biryani.

• Tips.
  • Type of rice to use for the egg biryani.
    • Basmati is the preferred rice for all varieties of biryani. Choose the best and a renowned brand of basmati rice or a brand you are familiar with.
    • Make sure to read any cooking instructions on the basmati rice pack just to make sure of the cooking time.
• Cooking the egg biryani rice.
  • Only soak the rice for 10 minutes before cooking it.
  • Pay close attention to the ratio of water to rice.
  • Less water can be adjusted as the rice cooks, but adding more water will overcook the rice and turn it mushy.
• If this is your first time making biryani for your family and friends.
  • The success of your egg biryani lies in getting the rice cooked to a perfect consistency.
  • Practice cooking the biryani for your family at least once or twice before cooking for a big function or dinner party.
• Spices and other ingredients in the egg biryani.
  • Make sure all your ingredients are fresh, especially the spice powders.
  • Read the recipe instructions carefully and follow every step.
• There are a few different elements that need to be prepared before assembling and cooking the egg biryani.
• The list of ingredients might look long, but if you make curries and Asian foods, most of these ingredients will be in your pantry. You can also buy the curry powders and aromatics in most Asian and Indian stores.
• Workflow to make the egg biryani.
  • Have all the essential ingredients ready.
  • Fry the onions, raisins and cashews(optional).
  • Boil the eggs, cover with spice paste and then deep fry the eggs.
  • Cook the biryani masala.
  • Add the basmati rice to the biryani masala and cook it to the correct consistency.
  • Transfer rice to a large platter and garnish with fried eggs, onions, raisins and cashews.
• Cooking in real time.
  • If you are serving lunch from 12.00-1:30 pm.
  • You will need to start at least by 9:00-10:00 am. This gives you ample time to prepare the biryani.

What you will need in the kitchen.

Chopping board, knife and wooden spoons to cook.
A small frying pan and a slotted spoon.
A large and wide, heavy-bottomed pan with a lid.
Some bowls to use for cooking the egg biryani.
A large platter to serve the egg biryani and a serving spoon.

Storage, freezing and reheating guide.

• Storing.
  • Store in an airtight container once the rice is completely cool.
  • Avoid storing the fried eggs with the biryani. store them separately.
  • I would advise you to consume the fried eggs within 24 hours and not refrigerate them.
  • Unless frozen, refrigerated biryani rice should be consumed within two days.
• Freezing.
  • You can freeze the biryani without the eggs for a week or two.
  • Make sure the rice is completely cool before freezing it in foil containers.
• Heating.
  • If the biryani was refrigerated, sprinkle a little water over the biryani and microwave it for a few minutes until warm or hot, and use a microwave cover to avoid any type of splatter.
  • If the biryani was frozen, remove the frozen biryani from the refrigerator, leave it to reach room temperature and then follow the instructions above to heat using the microwave.
• Stop food waste by.
  • If you have any leftovers, share them among your neighbours or family members or freeze the biryani for later use.

More rice recipes.

Chicken fried rice.
Ghee rice.
Sri Lankan yellow rice(rice recipe).

RECIPE DIFFICULTY-LITTLE CARE NEEDED

Ingredients to cook egg biryani

• Garnishing ingredients.
  • Coconut, vegetable oil or ghee.
  • Medium-sized onions sliced fine.
  • Raisins.
  • Cashews(optional).
• Frying the eggs.
  • Eggs.
  • Vinegar.
  • Water as needed to boil the eggs.
  • Red chilli powder.
  • Turmeric powder.
  • Extra oil to shallow fry the eggs.
• To cook the Biryani.
  • Tablespoons of vegetable, coconut oil or ghee.
  • Large onions sliced fine.
  • Green chillies, chopped or split.
  • Ginger-garlic paste.
  • Cardamom pods.
  • Cloves.
  • Cinnamon piece
  • Bay leaf.
  • Cumin seeds.
  • Salt to season.
  • Red chilli powder.
  • Turmeric powder.
  • Coriander powder(use my coriander powder recipe).
  • Garam masala(use my garam masala powder recipe).
  • Yoghurt or curd.
  • Basmati rice
  • Water as needed to cook the rice.
  • Coriander and mint leaves.

step-by-step photo tutorial.

How to cook the egg biryani.

Prep-work to cook the Biryani.

• Have a wide-mouthed pan ready to cook your egg biryani with a tight-fitting lid.
• Have all the ingredients chopped and ready. Review the workflow for the tips question and set up your ingredients to prepare the biryani.
• For your convenience, I have also listed the ingredients in the order they are used.

Preparing the garnishes.

Place a frying pan over low-medium heat. Pour in the oil or ghee, heat for a few seconds and add the sliced onions.
Fry the onions over steady heat for 7 to 10 minutes until they are golden in colour.
Once they turn golden, use a slotted spoon to drain any excess oil and transfer to a bowl.
Next, fry the raisins until they turn plump, two to three minutes over low-medium heat.
Repeat the same process with the cashews(optional).

Preparing the eggs for the biryani.

• Preparing the eggs.
  • Fill a medium-sized pan with 3 to 4 cups of water with one tablespoon of vinegar.
  • Bring the water to a rolling boil.
  • Gently place the eggs in the water, making sure they are completely submerged
  • Boil the eggs for 10 to 12 minutes over medium heat. Once the eggs are boiled, remove them from the stove and let them rest in the hot water for 5 minutes.
  • Drain the hot water and place the eggs under cold running water for a few minutes.
  • Once cool enough to handle, gently tap the shell over a hard surface and peel the shell off.
  • With a sharp knife and make superficial slits over the eggs on all sides(3 slits should do).

• Frying the eggs.
  • As the eggs cool, make a small paste with red chilli powder, turmeric powder and a few teaspoons of water.
  • Roll each of these eggs in the spice paste you’ve made.

• Once the eggs are ready, gently fry the eggs in the same oil used to fry onions. Add extra oil or ghee if needed.
• You will need to constantly turn the eggs to evenly fry them on all sides.

• Fry until they are golden in colour. Once the eggs are fried, set them aside.

Cooking the egg biryani.

Wash the basmati rice until the water runs clear.
Add water just enough to submerge the rice and let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
Once the rice is soaked, drain the water and set it aside.
Place the heavy-bottomed pan over low fire and pour in the oil or ghee(optional).
Add the sliced onions, green chillies, and ginger garlic paste.
Cook the onions until they turn soft.

Add the cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf.
Stir for 60 seconds over low-medium heat.
And then season with salt.

Make sure you are constantly moving the ingredients around to avoid the cumin seeds and other spices from burning.
Add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala.
Sauté over low heat and combine the spices for a minute.

Add the plain yoghurt to the pan and combine over low heat with the spice paste.

Combine well until you have a thick masala paste. Make sure to reduce the heat to low.

Add the washed and soaked water to the masala. Maintain low heat.

Combine the masala with the rice for a few minutes.

Add the water to the cooking pan. Stir the rice and water to spread the spice paste.

Add the coriander and mint leaves to the cooking rice.

Season with salt.

Cover with a lid and slow-simmer over medium heat until the water is completely reduced and the rice is visible.
Make sure that you maintain a steady heat to cook the biryani and avoid opening the lid constantly to check if the rice is done.
Instead, check in every 10-minute intervals until you notice the water evaporates completely.

Once the water has been absorbed by the rice, switch off the stove and remove the pot from the stove.
Let the rice rest with the lid on for 5 minutes so any remaining water is absorbed.
Once the 5 minutes are over.

Remove the lid and use a large spoon to gently fluff the rice from the bottom to the top of the cooking pot.
Do this gently and use the spoon a few times to turn the rice from the bottom to the top.
Immediately transfer to a large platter.

Garnish the rice with the onions, raisins and cashew fry. Place the fried eggs, cashews and onions over the rice.

If you are serving the egg biryani a little late, cover the biryani pot with foil and place it in a preheated oven.

JOIN ME ON ISLANDSMILE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

With you in mind, each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability.
It’s free and available on the blog, so you can try it anytime.
Please do not save it on apps, recipe boxes, or online groups, as this will affect my growth as a food blogger.
I would appreciate it if you could share the link rather than the full recipe.
All images and text on this website are protected by copyright.