Biryani

Biryani is a spiced mixed rice dish from the Indian subcontinent and Pakistan, traditionally cooked in a pot with basmati rice, meat, seafood or vegetables, and often yoghurt and saffron. It is one of the most popular dishes in South Asia and among its diaspora, and its many regional versions make it a family of recipes rather than a single preparation.

History

The origin of biryani is uncertain, and food historians disagree about it. Its name is generally linked to the Persian phrase birinj biryan, meaning "fried rice", from a Persian verb meaning "to fry" or "to roast". For this reason some writers propose a Persian origin, with the dish travelling through Afghanistan to northern India, while others connect it with the Turkish pilav.

The best-documented early evidence comes from the Mughal Empire. The Ain-i-Akbari, written between 1589 and 1596 in the time of Akbar, mentions biryani alongside pilau, with separate ingredient lists for each. The food historian Lizzie Collingham argues that the modern dish took shape in the royal Mughal kitchens, where the delicately flavoured Persian pilau met the spicy rice dishes of the subcontinent. Other writers, such as the cookery author Pratibha Karan, see it as an Indian dish derived from pilau brought by Muslim traders and soldiers, perhaps first cooked as a one-pot army meal. The historian Salma Hussein and others believe it reached South India, especially the Deccan, before the Mughal period.

From the courts, the dish spread to wider society, although it was first associated with the elite. Each city and community developed its own style, and today it is closely linked to the subcontinent's Muslim population, while also being a mainstream staple across many households and restaurants. Some versions take their names from places such as Hyderabad, Awadh or Sindh.

The South Asian diaspora carried the dish to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond, where it adapted to local ingredients.

Culture

Biryani is a celebration dish. In India and Pakistan it often forms the centrepiece of weddings and holidays, and in Bangladesh kacchi biryani with mutton has been described as the quintessential wedding dish of Old Dhaka. On the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, the mutton from goats slaughtered in memory of the prophet Abraham is traditionally served as biryani at dinner.

There are two main cooking methods. In pakki biryani, the ingredients are cooked separately, at least in part, and then arranged in layers. In kacchi biryani, raw layers of meat and rice are sealed in a pot and cooked slowly in their own steam, a method called dum. This distinguishes biryani from pilau, which is usually cooked all in one pot and served as a side dish.

Varieties are very numerous. In India, biryani is the most-ordered dish on online food delivery services, and many versions take their names from a city or a particular shop, such as those of Dhaka, Karachi or Bandra. Tehari, a popular vegetable version, exists, and many Hindu or non-religious households replace the meat with paneer, soya or vegetables. In Myanmar, danpauk is a mainstay at festive events; on the Persian Gulf, saffron-based chicken biryani is common; in Indonesia, nasi kebuli is steamed rice cooked in goat broth with milk and ghee; and in Thailand, khao mhok uses chicken, beef or fish with fried garlic and a green sour sauce.

The dish is usually served with raita, fried or curried aubergine, and a curried side. Biryani festivals are now held in cities such as Ambur, Islamabad, Karachi, Singapore and Qatar, reflecting its role as a marker of identity and gathering.

Trivia