Egg Dum Biryani

Egg Dum Biryani is a flavorful Biryani cooked using Dum method. It is nothing but cooking food over slow heat in a tightly sealed container or cooker. Hyderabadi Biryani is a popular Dum biryani in India. It is named after a city called Hyderabad. Though this method of cooking is a bit time consuming it is totally worth it. The aroma and flavor of the spices blend right in the rice when you dum cook. I have added vegetables such as cauliflower, carrot, potatoes, beans and peas to my Egg Biryani but you can avoid them if you want to.

Also check our Vegetable Dum Biryani for veggie lovers.

Preparation time: 2 hours

No. of servings: 4

Spice level: 4 out of 5

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice – 1 and 1/2 cups
• 1  big onion finely chopped (little more than a cup)
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Green chili – 1 (slit length wise)
• Cauliflower florets – 1 cup
• Carrots – 2 (peeled and cut into 1″ pieces)
• French beans – 10 to 12 (cut into 1″ pieces) or frozen beans
• Frozen or fresh green peas – 1/2 cup
• Medium size potatoes – 2 (peeled and cut into big cubes)
• Eggs – 4 (boiled and peeled)
• Cashew nut –  2 tbsp
• Clarified butter/ghee – 1 tsp
• Cloves – 4
• Green cardamom – 2
• Black cardamom – 1
• Mace – 1
• Cinnamon – 1″ stick
• Caraway seeds or shahi jeera – 1 tsp
• Coarsely ground black pepper – 1 tsp
• Star anise – 1
• Bay leaf – 1
• Cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tsp
• Chili powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Store bought biryani masala or Biryani spices – 2 tbsp (adjust to spice level)
• Yogurt – 3/4 cup
• Saffron – 1/4 tsp
• Milk – 2 tbsp
• Lime juice – 3 tbsp
• mint leaves – 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Butter – 3 tbsp

Method of Preparation:

1. Wash and soak basmati rice in water for 20 minutes.
2. Boil 3 and 1/2 cups of water in a pot and add a few drops of oil, shahi jeera and then the drained basmati rice and let it boil for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Cook till the grains are long and soft. Grains have to be separate. Drain and keep it aside.
4. In between, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wide pan, fry cut potatoes, carrot and beans separately till the edges are brown and about half cooked.
5. Transfer it to a plate with paper towel to absorb excess oil.
6. Heat a tbsp of oil and a tbsp of butter in the same pan and add  cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms, star anise, black pepper powder and mace.
7. Fry them for a minute till the aroma starts spreading and then add onions and fry till they become translucent and brown.
8. Add ginger garlic paste and slit green chili. After 2 minutes add the fried vegetables and peas.
9. Mix chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, biryani masala and salt with yogurt and add it to the vegetables. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle some water if required.
10. Finally add mint leaves, coriander leaves and lime juice and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Make sure the vegetables are not over cooked. They have to be firm.
11. When a thick gravy is obtained turn off stove.
12. Heat a tsp of clarified butter or ghee in a small pan and fry broken cashew nuts till golden brown and keep it aside.
13. Warm milk and add saffron to it and set it aside.

Dum Cooking:

1. Now comes the dum cooking. Dum cooking is more like pressure cooking but the container is completely sealed.
2. You can either use a big thick bottomed container and cook over low flame or cook with oven method. Tray method is an alternate but not the traditional method.
3. Container method: Coat the bottom of your container with a tbsp of oil or ghee and then add 1/3 rd of the gravy and spread it. Spread 1/3 rd of cooked basmati rice on top followed by the remaining gravy on top and half of the remaining rice. Sprinkle saffron milk and add the eggs. Finally add the rest of the gravy and the rice. Roll the chapati dough to a long rope and stick it to the edge of the container and cover it with a lid and close tight. Heat a big pan in which the rice container can fit in.  Place the biryani container inside the pan and cook for 20 to 30 minutes over low heat. Indirect heating helps to avoid the bottom part from burning. The lid will be clouded with steam. Turn off stove and carefully remove the lid. Slowly transfer the contents to a serving tray and garnish with fried cashew nuts. You can also use a thick kitchen towel (instead of dough) to cover the pan and then close the lid. Check here for step by step pictures.
4. Oven method: Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit (150 degree Celsius). In a small aluminum tray or in an oven safe tray, spread ghee or oil and layer the gravy and rice just as described above. Seal the tray with aluminum foil and let it cook for 20 minutes (adjust heat and time according to your oven). FInally garnish with fried cashew nuts.

🙂 Serve hot with raitha and enjoy.