Egg Pulao ... When it's late.. and you still have time

Little Sis (Please do not go by little.. she's at least 1.5 feet taller than I am) : What's you planning on making for dinner?

Me (almost confident) : Egg Pulao.. biryani sort of thing..

Little Sis: Isn't it binary? .. like is it Egg Biryani or Egg Pulao ?

Me (confused) : Not very sure.. its not really a biryani method .. but it has biryani masala in it.. I saw it on youtube by Vah chef.. Don't need oven or anything..

Little Sis: Thats great.. I love youtube.. Did you see that new video from RA-One.. its funny..

Me (even more confused) : It has biryani in it?? Or Egg? The Vah chef is on that??

Little Sis: No.. just saying about the video on Youtube.. this site is a life saver when you r darn bored..

Me (smiling.. donno for what !!) : Ohh.. we are off the biryani topic.. I see.. we r talking about videos.. :)

Little Sis: Well.. yeah.. you are making it right.. it will be awesomer than the youtube guy.. and make a little more.. I want it for tomorrow's lunch also..

Me (very happy) : hmmmmm ... it will be edible.. so we will be fine..

Little Sis: Thats exactly what I meant !!!! (giggle.. giggle.. giggle...)

Can you believe this !! She was just kidding me around.. she is the sweetest of all sisters. I am sure.. every older sis thinks the same way about their little sisters.. but my case is different.. I learnt a lot from her.. staying calm is one of them (ironically).. and cooking for her smile is another...

Well.. the story is not very long.. I was on a vacation and staying with her.. she was working hard the whole day in her lab.. and I was passing time.. like always.. at home..

When she came back, we decided to go grocery shopping.. and so did we !!

We came back.. and I stared thinking about dinner.. I wanted something spicy.. and she wanted to eat non-veg... So I decided on Egg Pulao/Biryani (am yet to decide on the name .. mind you please) .. and thats when the whole conversation started.. and somehow.. I felt it was funny how we jumped from egg to Vah chef to youtube to RA-one to Boring times and back to egg in just a few lines... sister conversation is just so fast and funny !!

Well.. when I started pulling the ingredients.. I realized.. we had everything at home. before went grocery shopping.. we did that for the heck of it.. which is funnier.. coz I kept saying.. "need to do grocery.. I wanna make something nice tonight".. never realized that the trip to the store was not necessary.. I always had what I needed.. its just a matter of looking..

The above statement is so very true in real life as well.. you'll agree with me.. I am sure !!

Well.. here is what we need for the recipe (inspired from Vah chef's youtube video)

• 7 eggs (6 hard-boiled and 1 raw)
• 1 medium onion (white preferably) sliced into long thin slices
• 4 slit green chillies (add more if your tongue allows so)
• 4 table spoons ginger garlic paste (to be used separately)
• 1 tea spoon red chili powder
• 1 tea spoon cumin powder
• 1 tea spoon coriander powder
• 1 tea spoon corn starch
• Whole masala (cloves + cinnamon stick + black pepper corns + cumin seeds + 2 bay leaves)
• 3 table spoon biryani masala powder (any brand will do)
• 1 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 1 cup chopped mint leaves
• 2 cups rice soaked in water for min. 30 minutes.
• Oil as needed
• Salt of course

The steps are here.. sorry could not take pictures.. will super update some when I make this again..

• Pierce the hard boiled eggs with forks or make cuts with a knife.
• Marinate with the following --> corn starch + chili powder + cumin powder + coriander powder + salt to taste + 1 raw egg + 1 table spoon ginger garlic paste.
• Soak rice in water for at least 30 mins. Drain and keep aside after 30 mins.
• Heat oil in a open faced heavy bottom pan
• When oil's hot add the whole masala and let splutter
• Then add onion and sprinkle a little bit of salt
• Now add coriander leaves + mint leaves + green chillies and fry a bit
• Then add 3 table spoons of ginger-garlic paste to the oil and fry up.
• Now add the biryani masala to it.
• Mix it all together and fry for a minute.
• Now add 3 cups of water to the mix and let it boil
• Once water starts boiling, add the rice and salt to taste. Cover up the pan
• Let the rice be cooked slowly within the pan. Low heat needed.
• Mean time, fry the marinated eggs in very little oil till they are brown on skin. Keep them in the frying pan.
• When the rice is almost done, add the eggs into it and mix slowly.
• Cover the whole pan and turn off the stove.
• Garnish with coriander leaves..

We didn't have enough time to garnish after we started smelling the minty rice.

The smell was so good that me and my sister pounced on the pulao/biryani (still un-decided on the name).. tasted well with simple onion+tomato raita !!

When it comes to enjoying food.. its always nice to have family around... you would agree that.. family + simple dhaaba food is always better than lonely + 5-star food.

Happy Cooking !!