Biryani


Biryani is a mixed rice dish with its origins among the Muslims of India. It can be compared to mixing a curry, later combining it with semi-cooked rice separately. This dish is especially popular throughout the Indian subcontinent, as well as among its diaspora. It is also prepared in other regions such as Iraqi Kurdistan. It is made with Indian spices, rice, meat, or eggs. The word 'biryani' is derived from a Persian word, birian, which means fried before cooking. It is one of the most popular dishes, which has acquired a niche for itself in South Asian cuisine.

Etymology

Biryani is a Hindustani word derived from the Persian language, which was used as an official language in different parts of medieval India by various Islamic dynasties. One theory states that it originated from birinj, the Persian word for rice. Another theory states that it is derived from biryan or beriyan, which means "to fry" or "to roast".

Origin

The exact origin of the dish is uncertain. In North India, different varieties of biryani developed in the Muslim centers of Delhi, Lucknow and other small principalities. In South India, where rice is more widely used as a staple food, several distinct varieties of biryani emerged from Hyderabad Deccan as well as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, where Muslim communities were present.
According to historian Lizzie Collingham, the modern biryani developed in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire and is a mix of the native spicy rice dishes of India and the Persian pilaf. Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon believes that the dish originated in Persia, and was brought to India by the Mughals. Another theory claims that the dish was prepared in India before the first Mughal emperor Babur conquered India. The 16th-century Mughal text Ain-i-Akbari makes no distinction between biryanis and pilaf : it states that the word "biryani" is of older usage in India. A similar theory, that biryani came to India with Timur's invasion, appears to be incorrect, because there is no record of biryani having existed in his native land during that period.
According to Pratibha Karan, who authored the book Biryani, the biryani is of South Indian origin, derived from pilaf varieties brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Arab traders. She speculates that the pulao was an army dish in medieval India. The armies, unable to cook elaborate meals, would prepare a one-pot dish where they cooked rice with whichever meat was available. Over time, the dish became biryani due to different methods of cooking, with the distinction between "pulao" and "biryani" being arbitrary. According to Vishwanath Shenoy, the owner of a biryani restaurant chain in India, one branch of biryani comes from the Mughals, while another was brought by the Arab traders to Malabar in South India.

Difference between biryani and pulao

or pulao, as it is known in the Indian subcontinent, is another mixed rice dish popular in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Opinions differ on the differences between pulao and biryani, and whether actually there is a difference between the two.
According to Delhi-based historian Sohail Nakhvi, pulao tends to be comparatively plainer than the biryani and consists of meat cooked with rice. Biryani, on the other hand, contains more gravy, and is often cooked for longer, leaving the meat or vegetables more tender. Biryani is also cooked with additional dressings. Pratibha Karan states that while the terms are often applied arbitrarily, the main distinction is that a biryani consists of two layers of rice with a layer of meat in the middle; whereas, the pulao is not layered.
Colleen Taylor Sen lists the following distinctions between biryani and pulao:
Ingredients vary according to the region and the type of meat or vegetables used. Meat is the prime ingredient with rice. As is common in dishes of the Indian subcontinent, vegetables are also used when preparing biryani, which is known as vegetable biriyani. Corn may be used depending on the season and availability. Navratan biryani tends to use sweeter, richer ingredients such as cashews, kismis and fruits, such as apples and pineapples.
The spices and condiments used in biryani may include ghee, nutmeg, mace, pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, mint leaves, ginger, onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and garlic. The premium varieties include saffron. In all biryanis, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the chicken or goat meat; special varieties might use beef or seafood instead. The dish may be served with dahi chutney or raita, korma, curry, a sour dish of aubergine, boiled egg, and salad.

Varieties

Chicken 65 Biryani

Chicken 65 biryani is slightly different from regular biryani. The biryani rice is dum cooked with chicken 65 masala and other spices. The chicken is marinated separately.

Kacchi biryani

For kacchi biryani, raw marinated meat is layered with raw rice before being cooked together. It is also known as kacchi yeqni. It is typically cooked with goat meat. The dish is cooked layered with the meat and a dahi-based marinade at the bottom of the cooking pot. A layer of rice is placed over it. Potatoes are often added before adding the rice layer. The pot is usually sealed to allow it to cook in its own steam and it is not opened until it is ready to serve.

Tehari

, tehri or tehari are various names for the vegetarian version of biryani. It was developed for the Hindu bookkeepers of the Muslim Nawabs. It is prepared by adding the potatoes to the rice, as opposed to the case of traditional biryani, where the rice is added to the meat. In Kashmir, tehari is sold as street food. Tehari became more popular during World War II, when meat prices increased substantially and potatoes became the popular substitute in biryani.

Beef biryani

Beef biryani, as the name implies, uses beef as the meat. In Hyderabad, it is famous as Kalyani biryani, in which buffalo or cow meat is used. This meal was started after the Kalyani Nawabs of Bidar came to Hyderabad sometime in the 18th century. The Kalyani biryani is made with small cubes of beef, regular spices, onions and many tomatoes. It has a distinct tomato, jeera and dhania flavor. In Kerala, beef biryani is well known. The Bhatkali biryani is a special biryani where the main ingredient is onion. Its variations include beef, goat, chicken, titar, egg, fish, crab, prawn and vegetable biryani.

In the Indian subcontinent

There are many types of biryani, whose names are often based on their region of origin. For example, Sindhi biryani developed in the Sindh region of what is now Pakistan, and Hyderabadi biryani developed in the city of Hyderabad in South India. Some have taken the name of the shop that sells it, for example: Haji Biriyani, Haji Nanna Biriyani in Old Dhaka, Fakhruddin Biriyani in Dhaka, Students biryani in Karachi, Lucky biryani in Bandra, Mumbai and Baghdadi biryani in Colaba, Mumbai. Biryanis are often specific to the respective Muslim communities where they originate, as they are usually the defining dishes of those communities. Cosmopolitanism has also led to the creation of these native versions to suit the tastes of others as well.

Ambur/Vaniyambadi biryani

Bhatkali/Navayathi biryani

Bohri biryani

Chettinad biryani

Degh Ki biryani

Delhi biryani

Dhakaiya Haji Biriyani

Dindigul biryani

Hyderabadi biryani

Memoni/Kutchi biryani

Kalyani biryani

Kolkata biryani

Rawther biryani

Sindhi biryani

Sri Lankan biryani

Thalassery biryani

Outside the Indian subcontinent

Burma

In Myanmar, biryani is known in Burmese as danpauk or danbauk, derived from the Persian term dum pukht, which refers to a slow oven cooking technique. Danbauk is a mainstay at festive events such as Thingyan, weddings and donation feasts. Given danbauk's South Asian origins, danbauk restaurants and chains have traditionally been owned by Muslims, but in recent decades Buddhist entrepreneurs have entered the market.
Featured ingredients include: cashew nuts, yogurt, raisins and peas, chicken, cloves, cinnamon, saffron and bay leaf cooked in long-grain rice. In danbauk, chicken specially seasoned with a danbauk masala spice mix, is cooked with the rice. Danbauk is typically eaten with a number of side dishes, including a fresh salad of sliced onions, julienned cabbage, sliced cucumbers, fermented limes and lemons, fried dried chilies, and soup. In recent decades, danbauk restaurants have innovated variations, including "ambrosia" biryani, which features dried fruits and buttered rice.

Western Asia

In Iraq, biryani, is usually saffron-based with chicken usually being the meat or poultry of choice. It is most popular in Iraqi Kurdistan. Most variations also include vermicelli, fried onions, fried potato cubes, almonds and raisins spread liberally over the rice. Sometimes, a sour/spicy tomato sauce is served on the side.
In Iran, during the Safavid dynasty, a dish called Berian was made with lamb or chicken, marinated overnight — with yogurt, herbs, spices, dried fruits like raisins, prunes or pomegranate seeds — and later cooked in a tannour oven. It was then served with steamed rice.

Afghan biryani

A different dish called biryan is popular in Afghanistan. Biryan traces its origins to the same source as biryani, and is today sold in Afghanistan as well as in Bhopal, India. Biryan is prepared by cooking gosht and rice together, but without the additional gravy and other condiments that are used in biryani. The Delhi-based historian Sohail Hashmi refers to the biryan as midway between the pulao and biryani. The Afghani biryani tends to use much dry fruit such as raisins and lesser amounts of meat, often cut into tiny pieces.

Indonesia

Nasi kebuli is an Indonesian spicy steamed rice dish cooked in goat meat broth, milk and ghee. Nasi kebuli is descended from kabuli palaw which is an Afghani rice dish, similar to biryani served in the Indian subcontinent.
Although Indonesia has authentic nasi kebuli, Indonesia also inherited and has local-style of biryani which known as nasi biryani or nasi briyani. Nasi biryani is popular among and often associated as Acehnese, Arab Indonesian, Indian Indonesian and Malay cuisine.

Malaysia and Singapore

Nasi briyani dishes are very popular in Malaysia and Singapore. As an important part of Malaysian Indian cuisine, they are popularized through mamak stalls, hawker centres, and food courts as well as fine dining restaurants.

Mauritius

Biryani dishes are very popular in Mauritius especially at Hindu and Muslim weddings. It is also widely available at street food places.

Philippines

of the Philippines features a special dish called nasing biringyi, that is typically prepared only during special occasions such as weddings, family get-togethers or fiestas. It is not a staple of the Filipino diet as it is difficult to prepare compared to other usual dishes. Nasing biringyi is similar to the nasi briyani dish of Malaysia in style and taste. A version that has merged with the Filipino version of the Spanish paella is known as bringhe.

South Africa

In the Cape Malay culture, a variation of biryani incorporates lentils as a key ingredient in the dish along with meat. The dish may be seasoned with garam masala or a curry spice mix and coloured, sometimes heavily, with turmeric.
In the Durban Indian culture, which is home to much of South Africa's Indian cuisine, Biryani is generally referred to as Breyani, especially by the younger generation. The Breyani is heavily spiced and exceptionally hot, usually layered with steamed rice which has been liberally coloured by Turmeric, fragrant garam masala, curry powder, lentils, spiced meat, fried crispy onions and whole chillies. The Breyani is often served with a side of dhal which makes it more moist, and is a popular meal at weddings and similar celebrations across all cultures and races.

Thailand

Biryani in Thailand is commonly known as khao mhok. It is commonly paired with chicken, beef or even fish and topped with fried garlic. The dish is common in Thai cuisine and often served with a green sour sauce.