Have a crack at this egg-tastic, restaurant-style recipe – the perfect way to spice up your home cooking tonight.
This year, Friday 08 October marks the 25th anniversary of World Egg Day, a global celebration of the gooey goodness of eggs. With much of Australia in lockdown, Australian Eggs has partnered with four Aussie restaurants to design World Egg Day meal kits, to ensure everyone can celebrate from their own kitchen.
One restaurant is Melbourne’s Babu Ji, a staple of the St Kilda’s Indian food scene since 2014. Offering fresh and unique flavours, Babu Ji has used this at-home food experience to develop a recipe that celebrates the rich taste eggs bring to the table.
Duration: 45 minutes | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 2
INGREDIENTS
2 cups basmati rice
5 eggs
2 tsp oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp biryani masala
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
6 tbsp yoghurt
½ tsp cardamom powder
¼ cup ginger, thinly sliced
1 or 2 green chillies, finely chopped
¼ cup mint leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
Whole Spices:
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
½ tsp shahi cumin
4 green cardamoms
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 strand mace
METHOD
How to Cook the Rice:
1. Heat 5 cups of water in a large pot. Once the water starts to boil, add 2 cups of rice and a pinch of salt.
2. Stir and let this simmer on a medium heat for 8 – 10 minutes.
3. Check the rice, it should have cooked 90% then turn off the heat. Strain the rice and keep aside.
How to Cook the Eggs:
1. Boil 5 eggs in simmering water for 6 -7 minutes. Remove the eggshells and rinse them. Then make a few slits into the eggs using a knife.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a large non-stick pot. Add the eggs and sauté for 2 minutes on low heat.
3. Once the eggs start to blister and brown on each side, turn off the heat. Remove the eggs from the pot and keep aside.
How to Fry the Onions:
1. In the same pot, add 1 tsp oil and the sliced onions. Sauté on a low-medium heat until the onion turns brownish pink and crisps up.
2. Remove from the pot and keep on a paper towel/plate.
How to Make the Egg Biryani:
1. In the same pot, heat 3 tbsp ghee. Add all the whole spices (star anise, bay leaf, shahi cumin, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, and mace) and sauté until they sizzle.
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry on a medium heat until the raw smell disappears (about 3 – 4 minutes).
3. Add 1 tbsp of the fried onions, the tomatoes, biryani masala, salt as per taste, chilli powder, turmeric powder and 100g of yoghurt, sauté. Cook until the tomatoes soften.
4. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add 1 cup of water and let the masala thicken. Once the masala thickens, leave 2 tbsp of the cooked masala in the pot and remove the rest of the masala into a bowl.
Layering the Egg Biryani in pot:
1. On 2 tbsp of cooked masala, add 2 ladles of cooked rice, fried onions, chopped coriander, chopped mint, 1 – 2 cooked eggs, chopped chilli, sliced ginger, and cardamon powder.
2. Layer 2 tbsp of cooked masala and follow the above process. Repeat the process until you reach the top of the dish.
3. Add remaining fried eggs, fried onion, masala, coriander and mint. Seal the pot and let it cook for 8 – 10 minutes on a low heat. Turn off the heat and wait for 10 minutes.
4. Fluff the biryani and serve with raita.
Not looking to cook? Not to worry! Australians Eggs has also joined up with Deliveroo to offer 50% off egg dishes at over 100 restaurants across the country. To access the discount, Aussies should search for ‘World Egg Day’ in Deliveroo, or clock on the ‘50% off egg dishes’ promotion.
Have a few left-over eggs? Try your hand at these mouth-watering Fluffy Japanese Souffle Pancakes. Or, for some of the best home-cooked Indian cuisine, try this Slow-Cooked Karnataka Pork Curry Recipe.
Australian foodies can order these meal kits for a limited time at Deliveroo between Thursday 07 and Friday 08 October. They include all the ingredients needed to make Babu Ji’s Homemade Egg Biryani: