Biryani is a mixed rice dish, mainly popular in South Asia. It is made with rice, some type of meat (chicken, goat, pork, lamb, beef, prawn, or fish) and spices. To cater to vegetarians, in some cases, it is prepared by substituting vegetables or paneer for the meat. Sometimes eggs and/or potatoes are also added.
Biryani is one of the most popular dishes in South Asia and among the South Asian diaspora, although the dish is often associated with the region's Muslim population in particular.[3] Similar dishes are also prepared in other parts of the world such as in Iraq, Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaysia.[4] Biryani is the single most-ordered dish on Indian online food ordering and delivery services, and has been labelled as the most popular dish overall in India.
North Indian Briyani :
North India is The exact origin of the dish is uncertain, however, it is speculated to have originated in Iran. In North India, different varieties of biryani developed.
According to historian Lizzie Collingham, the modern biryani developed in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire (1526–1857) and is a mix of the native spicy rice dishes of India and the Persian polao.Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon believes that the dish originated in Persia and was brought to India by the Mughals. Salma Hossein, whom the BBC regards as the "doyenne of Islamic cooking in India", shares a similar view, asserting that biryani came to India from Persia even before the Mughal era. Food scholar Pushpesh Pant also challenges the Mughal-origin claim, stating that it originated in Iran and that "there is no evidence that biryani first came to this land with the Moguls. It is far more probable that it travelled with pilgrims and soldier-statesmen of noble descent to the Deccan region in South India".
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 (or pulao): it states that the word "biryani" is of older usage in India.[citation needed] 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 wrote the book Biryani, biryani is of Mughal origin, derived from pilaf varieties brought to the Indian subcontinent by Arab traders. She speculates that the pulao was an army dish in medieval India. Armies would prepare a one-pot dish of 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.
There are various apocryphal stories dating the invention to Shah Jahan's time but Rana Safvi, the distinguished historian, says she could only find a recipe from the later Mughal period, from Bahadur Shah Zafar's time. It is not her claim that there was no biryani before that; just that she has not found a recipe. Other historians who have gone through texts say that the first references to biryani only appear around the 18th century.
South India :
Thalassery Biriyaani, a South Indian Biriyani
Some claim that the dish “oonchoru” as mentioned in Sangam literature, which dates from between 200 BCE and 200 CE, is a predecessor of modern biryani. This dish, which was served to the soldiers of the Chera kings in Kerala, was said to be made of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf.[18][19][20]
The spices utilized in the preparation of South Indian biryanis, such as those used in the Malabar variety, are distinctive to the region and the Western Ghats. These spices are not found in the Middle East, Persia, or North India, underscoring the unique culinary heritage and local ingredients of South Indian biryani.[18][19][20]
In South India, where rice is more widely used as a staple food, several distinct varieties of biryani emerged from Hyderabad in Telangana, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Mangalore and Bhatkal in Coastal Karnataka, Thalassery and Kozhikode in Malabar Kerala, as well as Ambur and Chettinad in Tamil Nadu.
Ingredients :
Ingredients for biryani vary according to the region and the type of meat and vegetables used. Meat (chicken, goat, beef, lamb,prawn or fish) is the prime ingredient with rice. As is common in dishes of the Indian subcontinent, vegetables are sometimes also used when preparing biryani. Corn may be used depending on the season and availability. Navratan biryani tends to use sweeter, richer ingredients such as cashews, sultanas (kismis), and fruits such as apples and pineapples.
The spices and condiments used in biryani may include fennel seeds, ghee (clarified butter), nutmeg, mace, pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, mint, ginger, onions, tomatoes, green chilies,[26] star anise, and garlic. The premium varieties include saffron. Some commercial recipes for Biryani also include aromatic essences such as Mitha Ittar see attar, kewra and rose water. Dried sour prunes (Alu Bukhara) may also be added to the biryani. In nasi briyani and other variants made in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, typical Southeast Asian spices and aromatics such as pandan leaf may be used alongside typical South Asian spices.
The main ingredient that usually accompanies the spices is chicken, lamb or goat meat; special varieties might use beef or seafood instead. The dish may be served with dahi chutney or raita, seekh kebab, korma, curry, a sour dish of aubergine (brinjal), boiled egg, and salad.
Philippines :
Kapampangan cuisine of the Philippines (often in Pampanga) features a special dish called nasing biringyi (chicken saffron rice), 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.[67]
South Africa :
In the Cape Malay culture, a variation of biryani incorporates lentils as a key ingredient in the dish along with meat (usually beef, chicken, seafood or vegetables). The dish is made by cooking the rice and legumes and meat and gravy separately, then mixing it. Uncommonly, it is made using the dum-cooking method. The spices are similar to those used in the original Indian biryani.
East Africa :
Variants of biryani exist in the cuisines of Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania due to centuries of trade between the East African coast and South Asia for centuries, and the more recent migration of Indians to the latter two countries more recently during the British colonial era.
Zanzibar has its own form of biryani characterized by the mixture of East African and Indian spices, as well as influences from Arab cuisine. The meat used is most commonly chicken.[68] This variant is similar to the forms of biryani served in Kenya.
In Somalia, the descendant of biryani is bariis iskukaris. It is served with chicken, goat, beef, lamb, or camel meat, and spiced with the Somali spice mixture xawaash and other spices. A unique characteristic of bariis and other Somali dishes is the addition of banana on the side to be mixed with the dish.
