Ingredients
For Egg Qorma
3/4 cup cooking oil
2 cups thinly sliced onions
2-inch cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 mace
6 cloves
5 green cardamoms
1 whole nutmeg
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
1/2 tbsp shah jeera (caraway seeds)
2 tbsp ginger & garlic Paste
Red chili powder, to taste
Biryani Masala (spice powder), recipe below
1 cup pureed tomatoes
1/2 cup whole milk yogurt, beaten
1/3 cup almond powder, finely grinded
Salt to taste
8 Boiled eggs
3/4 cup water
Handful mint leaves
3 green chilies
For Biryani Masala
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 twig of mace
Seeds from 2 black cardamom
1-inch cinnamon stick
2 Kashmiri dried chilies
For the Rice
4 l water
2-inch cinnamon
2 bay leaves
5 Green Cardamoms
3 cloves
2 tbsp salt
3 tbsp oil
3 cups, Royal® Chef’s Secret Extra Long Basmati rice
For Layering
1 tsp kewra Water
1 tsp rose water
Handful mint leaves
Fried Onions
8-10 saffron strands, soaked in 1 tbsp warm milk
2 tbsp Ghee
Dough for sealing
Preparation
Make the Egg Qorma
- Dry roast all the spices listed under biryani masala and using your spice grinder, make a coarse powder. Keep ready.
- Heat oil on medium heat in a heavy bottom pot. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onions. Cook onions till they brown evenly. Strain the onions from the oil using a slotted spoon and keep them ready.
- In the same pot, to the remaining oil add the whole spices; cinnamon, mace, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Let it crackle for 30 seconds. Add the caraway seeds next and let them crackle. Next, add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute or so till you smell a nice aroma.
- Next, add the biryani masala along with red chili powder, add a couple tablespoons of water so that the spices don’t burn. Sauté for a few seconds and then add the tomato puree, half of reserved fried onions and salt.
- Cook the tomato puree stirring regularly till you see oil separating. Take the pot off the heat and continuously stirring add the beaten yogurt and almond powder. Return the pot to stove and cook again on medium heat till oil starts separating.
- Add the boiled eggs. Stir everything together for 5 minutes and then add water, stir, add mint leaves and green chilies. Bring to a slow boil and take off the stove. Keep the qorma.
Cook the rice
- Bring water to a boil in another wide deep pot. Add the whole spices along with oil and salt.
- Add the soaked drained rice and cook on high heat till rice is 80% done. Strain the rice and reserve about 1.5 cups of rice water.
Layer The Biryani
- Preheat oven to 275F.
- Add half of the egg qorma to a fresh, wide and deep oven safe pot. Add half of the rice on top of the qorma. Repeat with another layer of qorma and rice.
- Add 1 cup of hot water from cooking rice on top of top rice layer. Scatter some mint leaves. Add a few tablespoons of melted ghee. Pour over the soaked saffron along with milk. Also add the kewra and rose water. Scatter remaining fried onions as well.
- Cover the pot with a tight lid and seal the sides of the pot using the dough.
- Place the sealed pot in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
- Once the cooking is over, pull out the pot from oven and let sit undisturbed for 20 minutes.
- Open carefully and fluff the biryani.
- Garnish with mint leaves and pomegranate arils and reserved fried onions.
- Serve warm.
