Anumita tells us about minty egg biriyani that’s yummy and easy to cook. A Different Truths exclusive. 

Biriyani is always a favorite food at home. I always have to find new ways to cook and add a new dimension to this dish. I favour biriyani to other dishes, as in my opinion, this is a one-pot meal.

While my kids were young, a friend, now living in India, taught us to make egg biriyani with mint leave flavour mixed in. I am not a big fan of mint leaves but was curious of the outcome of this recipe. I tagged along an enthusiast friend of mine to this lady’s house.

The result was mind blowing and was very simple to make. So, I tried it at home and it was an instant hit.

The combination of the green paste and the colour of the gravy of the eggs make the dish look like a kaleidoscope of colors, and each spoonful is like a party inside your mouth.

I had a party at home very recently. To my horror, I had lost the precious recipe. I tried to go through the internet to dig out my recipe, but alas this time the internet failed. A bit down, I called my enthusiast friend. As she got my SOS call, she promptly sent images of her old recipe book page, with the fading handwritten recipe. God bless her heart!

Let me share this hand-me-down recipe of minty egg biriyani with you all and hope all of you have great time making, serving and enjoying every spoonful of it.

Minty Egg Biriyani

Prep time: 20 mins                                           Cook time: 20 mins

Dish: Indian main course                                 Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice 2 cups
• Bay leaves
• Eggs 4 boiled and cut into half
• Onion 2 big, sliced and fried and kept aside (you can used fried onions from the box)
• Tomatoes 3 big, chopped
• Salt
• Oil
• Clarified butter (ghee)
• Mixed whole garam masala 1 tbsp (pepper corn, cardamom, cloves, aniseed)

Spice for Gravy:

• Green chili 11 small ones
• Ginger 3 “
• Garlic 10 big cloves
• Cloves 4
• Cinnamon 2” stick
• Big Cardamom 1
• Green Cardamom 2

Green Masala:

Cilento ½     a bunch

Mint leaves 4

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice.
2. Grind the spices for the gravy to a smooth paste.
3. Heat oil and add the paste and cook till oil separates.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes.
5. Once the tomatoes incorporate into the gravy add salt.
6. Now place the eggs into the gravy.
7. Keep this aside.
8. Grease a separate pot with clarified butter (ghee).
9. Add 2 bay leaves and the whole garam masala.
10. Once the aroma comes out add the rice.
11. Add salt and water in little quantity.
12. The rice should be tad bit undercooked.
13. Keep aside when done
14. Add salt to the green paste.
15. Grease a big pot with ghee.
16. Layer rice, eggs, gravy, green masala, bay leaves, fried onions, and drops of ghee.
17. Continue layering till all the rice and other ingredients are used up.
18. Cover the lid and let is stay on warm for 5 mins.
19. Serve from the pot with sides of raita and salad.
20. Enjoy this exquisite and aromatic minty egg biriyani.

©Anumita Chatterjee Roy

Photos by the author