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. 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.
Biryani is the primary dish in a meal, while the pulao is usually a secondary accompaniment to a larger meal. In biryani, meat (and vegetables, if present) and rice are cooked separately before being layered and cooked together for the gravy to absorb into the rice. Pulao is a single-pot dish: meat (or vegetables) and rice are cooked separately and they are not mixed. However, some other writers have reported pulao recipes in which the rice and meat are cooked together and then simmered for dum cooking until the liquid is absorbed. Biryanis have more complex and stronger spices compared to pulao. The British-era author Abdul Halim Sharar mentions that biryani has a stronger taste of curried rice due to a greater amount of spices
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.[6][10] 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.[11] Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon believes that the dish originated in Persia and was brought to India by the Mughals.[12] 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".[13] Another theory claims that the dish was prepared in India before the first Mughal emperor Babur conquered India.[14] 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][15] 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.[14] 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.[6][14] 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.[16] 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.[17]
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.[6][10] 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.[11] Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon believes that the dish originated in Persia and was brought to India by the Mughals.[12] 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".[13] Another theory claims that the dish was prepared in India before the first Mughal emperor Babur conquered India.[14] 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][15] 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.[14] 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.[6][14] 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.[16] 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.[17]
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.[6][10] 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.[11] Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon believes that the dish originated in Persia and was brought to India by the Mughals.[12] 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".[13] Another theory claims that the dish was prepared in India before the first Mughal emperor Babur conquered India.[14] 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][15] 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.[14] 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.[6][14] 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.[16] 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.[17]
Biryani is the primary dish in a meal, while the pulao is usually a secondary accompaniment to a larger meal. In biryani, meat (and vegetables, if present) and rice are cooked separately before being layered and cooked together for the gravy to absorb into the rice. Pulao is a single-pot dish: meat (or vegetables) and rice are cooked separately and they are not mixed. However, some other writers have reported pulao recipes in which the rice and meat are cooked together and then simmered for dum cooking until the liquid is absorbed.[21][24] Biryanis have more complex and stronger spices compared to pulao. The British-era author Abdul Halim Sharar mentions that biryani has a stronger taste of curried rice due to a greater amount of spices
This is an integral part of the Navayath cuisine and a specialty of Bhatkal, a coastal town in Karnataka. Its origins are traced to the Persian traders who left behind not only biryani but a variation of kababs and Indian breads. In Bhatkali biryani, the meat is cooked in an onion and green chili-based masala and layered with fragrant rice. It has a unique spicy and heady flavour, and the rice is overwhelmingly white with mild streaks of orange. Its variations include beef, goat, chicken, titar (Partridge), egg, fish, crab, prawn, and vegetable biryani.
Another theory claims that the dish was prepared in India before the first Mughal emperor Babur conquered India.[14] 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][15] 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.[14] 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.[6][14] 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.[16] 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.[17]