Ande Ki Biryani – A delicious biryani prepared using buttermilk curry, pan-seared crisp fried eggs and finally garnished with scrambled eggs.
“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"…
"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
Whoo Hooo… Spring is here. It’s so rejuvenating when the first rays of Sun kiss me. I was waiting for it and finally, the day has come. The trees on the sides of the road are bedecked with tiny flowers of white and purple. It was on a cold winter evening, I landed here. The trees stood tall in pain without leaves as if true lovers were separated from each other. I was advised by everyone that winter will be very depressing. People would be stuck indoors and the only way to pass a day to watch their favorite series repeatedly and visiting friends occasionally. But then, I enjoyed winter and always felt as a princess in the winter wonderland. Though winter fascinates me, my heart always long for those greenery and colorful flowers during spring. There is a spirit of love felt everywhere on a spring day. Each flower rose from their dreams of winter and welcomed sun rays with its charming colors. The park will be crowded with kids and their innocent smile. The corner table will be occupied with grandmas who visited their granddaughters chatting about their day and praising the gigantic buildings here. One could witness health freaks running around the park. And granddads will celebrate farewell for their friends when they return back India after their vacation. Spring brings happiness along with it! I can’t wait to enjoy it!
Spring is undoubtedly the most eventful season of the year which gives hope to new lives. And that’s my favorite season too. Like spring, eggs are my favorite and I could eat them in any forms – Poached, hard boiled or fried. Whenever we had a meal with eggs, mom always called me secretly into the kitchen and gave me an additional egg. (shhh shhh….. don’t tell my brothers). Nothing could bring a broad smile on my face than an egg. Am I sounding weird? Let it be. The day when eggs are restricted from consumption, I will stage a war against them.
As a child, I used to order for egg fried rice or egg biryani at restaurants. During my high school days, hard boiled eggs were served in mess after night study and I ended up in taking two for me, every single time. Even now, on those lazy days, I just boil an egg for me and pack curd rice for my lunch. My love for egg never ends. When I purchased the book “A culinary journey for the love of biryani”, this ande ki biryani was my first attraction. I wanted to try it for a weekend lunch. The process is a lengthy one but it is really worth the labor. The biryani has pan seared eggs with chili and scrambled eggs which differentiate it from the generic biryanis. Fine grains of rice are cooked with the curry prepared using buttermilk and pan seared boiled eggs, finally garnished with scrambled eggs. And it tastes out of the world, which can’t be expressed in words.
I highly recommend everyone who loves eggs to try this biryani at least once.
Ingredients:
Adjust spices according to your desire.
Rice:
- 500 grams Basmati Rice, washed and soaked for 15 minutes (I used normal rice)
- ½ teaspoon Roasted Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Egg Masala:
- 2 tablespoon Ghee
- 3 – 4 Eggs, hard boiled
- 1-2 Eggs scrambled
- ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Cloves
- 3 Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 3 large Onions, thinly sliced
- 2 Tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tablespoon Red Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- 2 Green Chilies, finely chopped
- Salt
Garnish
- Scrambled Eggs
- Fried Onions
- Chopped Coriander leaves
- 1 tablespoon Desi Ghee for layering the dum
Method:
Par-cook the rice:
- Wash rice thoroughly with water and soak it for about 15 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, add 5 cups of water and bring it to boil.
- Once the water starts boiling, add roasted cumin seeds and salt to it.
- Now, add the soaked rice and stir it.
- Let it cook for about 5-6 minutes or until the rice is half cooked.
- Once half cooked, drain the water completely from the rice.
- Spread the rice on a wide plate and add butter to it.
- Fluff it with a fork and set aside
Preparing Hard Boiled eggs for Biryani
- In a small pan, add a tablespoon of ghee and heat it.
- Sprinkle red chili powder, cumin powder and salt to it.
- Now, add the hard boiled eggs to the pan and cook until they turn reddish brown on all sides
- Remove the eggs from the pan.
Preparing Scrambled Eggs:
- In the same pan, add some ghee and crack 2-3 eggs.
- Add salt and pepper to it and stir them vigorously.
- Once they are scrambled, remove them from the pan and set aside.
Preparing Egg Masala:
- Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a wide and deep saucepan.
- Once the pan is hot, add asafetida, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves and mustard seeds.
- Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
- Add ¾ part of the chopped onions and green chilies to the pan and fry them until they become transparent.
- Now, stir in the tomato slices and spice powders. Combine them together.
- Add buttermilk and cook till oil separates from it.
- Add the fried hard boiled eggs to the curry and cook on low flame for another ten minutes.
- In a small pan, heat oil/ghee and once the oil is hot, fry the remaining onions until they caramelize and run brown. We will use this fried onions for garnish and you can substitute it with store-bought fried onions.
Layering the Dum:
- In a thick bottomed pan, add a tablespoon of ghee.
- Now, place half of the buttered rice as the bottom layer.
- Add the egg masala as the second layer and arrange the hard boiled eggs on top of the masala.
- Arrange the remaining rice as the third layer.
- Sprinkle scrambled eggs, fried onions and coriander leaves evenly on top of the rice.
- Spread some ghee and close the lid.
- Cook in medium flame for about 10 minutes and serve with raita of your choice.
And don't forget to check out my all-time favorite Prawn Biryani here – Prawn Biryani
If you would love to try chicken biryani, then do check out this famous specialty from Ambur – Ambur Chicken Biryani And I do have another authentic version of Mushroom Biryani from the region of Chettinad. If you need a protein-rich version of Biryani, then I know you will love this Soya chunks Peas Biryani.
And don't forget to check out my personal favorite Vegetable Biryani from my childhood days.
If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here – Facebook, Google
Yours Truly,
Karthi
