Biryani (/bɜːrˈjɑːni/) is a mixed rice dish originating in South Asia, traditionally made with rice, meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef) or seafood (prawns or fish), vegetables, and spices. The dish is thought to derive from a combination of colourful and aromatic Persian pilau rice and Persian yoghurt-marinaded meat with spicy Indian styles of cooking rice. It was created in Mughal-era India, though the precise date and place of origin are debated.
Biryani is one of the most popular dishes in South Asia and among the South Asian diaspora. The dish is often associated with the region's Muslim population. Similar dishes are prepared in many other countries, often with local variations, and often brought there by South Asian diaspora populations. Biryani is the most-ordered dish on Indian online food ordering and delivery services, is used in weddings and celebrations throughout the region, and has been described as the most popular dish in India.
According to the historian of food Lizzie Collingham, the modern biryani developed in India (Hindustan) in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire, specifically during the rule of the emperor Akbar (1556–1605), and is a mix of the native spicy rice dishes of South Asia and the Persian pilau style of garnished rice.[7] The historian of food K. T. Achaya writes that the 16th-century Mughal text Ain-i-Akbari, written in the time of the emperor Akbar, mentions biryani but states that pilau is "of older usage in India";[8] this could mean that it was a precursor of biryani.[8]
The Portuguese priest Sebastien Manrique described rice dishes on sale in the tent-city of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as he travelled to Lahore in 1641. Manrique distinguished biryani from pilau: "Among these dishes the principal and most substantial were the rich and aromatic Mogol Bringes [biryanis][a] and Persian pilaos of different hues".[10] According to the historian Rana Safvi, the earliest actual recipe is from the later Mughal period, from Bahadur Shah Zafar's time.[11]
The cookery writer Pratibha Karan states that biryani is of Indian origin, derived from pilau which Muslim traders and invaders brought with them. She speculates that pilau was an army dish in medieval India. Armies would prepare a one-pot dish of rice with any available red meat. Over time, the dish became biryani due to different methods of cooking.[6][9] The historian of South Indian food, Shri Bala, states that there is some evidence that rice was cooked in meat stock in South India. This takes the form of the one-pot pilau-style dish Kottan Soru (lit. "rice assemblage") mentioned in Sangam literature, though it is not known if this developed into the modern pilau.[12] Collingham writes that "in the kitchens [of the Mughal court]... the delicately flavoured Persian pilau met the pungent and spicy rice dishes of Hindustan to create the classic Mughlai dish, biryani".[7]
Variant theories
In the view of the historian of Islamic cuisine Salma Hussein[13] and others, biryani came to South Asia from Persia before the Mughal era,[9] most probably arriving in South India's Deccan region, brought by travelling soldier-statesmen and pilgrims.[13]
A variant theory, that biryani[14] came to India with Timur's invasion, appears to be incorrect because there is no record of biryani having existed in his native region of Central Asia during that period.[9]
The Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon writes that the dish originated in Persia and was brought to South Asia by the Mughals.[15]
According to the restaurateur Vishwanath Shenoy, one branch of biryani comes from the Mughals, while another was brought by the Arab traders to Calicut (the Malabar Coast) in South India.[16]
Ingredients for biryani vary according to the region and the type of meat and vegetables used. Meat (chicken, goat, beef, lamb,[17] prawn or fish) is the prime ingredient with rice. Vegetables are sometimes added. Navratan biryani tends to use sweeter, richer ingredients such as cashews, sultanas (kishmish), and fruits such as apple and pineapple.[18]
Biryani may be served with side dishes such as raita (yoghurt with cucumber, tomato, etc), fried or curried aubergine (brinjal), salad, or a curried side such as ande ka salan (with boiled eggs)[21] or mirchi ka salan (with chili peppers).[22]
Dietary variations include adding eggs, potatoes, and substituting meat with paneer or vegetables, especially in Hindu or non-religious vegetarian variants.[23]
Biryani can be cooked using one of two techniques, pakki ("cooked") and kacchi ("raw").[24] In a pakki biryani, the ingredients are cooked separately (at least in part) and then arranged in layers. The different layers can be individually coloured and flavoured with a brightly-coloured spice such as turmeric or saffron.[24] In a kacchi biryani, layers are arranged in a pot which is then sealed and cooked slowly (Dum cooking) for the food to steam in its own liquid.[24]
The British-era author Abdul Halim Sharar mentions that biryani has a stronger curried taste due to a greater amount of spices.[25][27] According to Delhi-based historian Sohail Hashmi, pilau tends to be plainer than biryani, and consists of meat or vegetables cooked with rice with the bottom layered with potatoes or onions. Biryani contains more gravy (or yakhni), and is often cooked longer, leaving the meat (and vegetables, if present) more tender, and the rice more flavoured. Biryani is cooked with additional dressings and often has a light layer of scorched rice at the bottom.[18]
Author 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 (and vegetables, if present) in the middle, while the pilau is not layered.[9]
Author Colleen Taylor Sen lists the following distinctions between biryani and pilau:[28]
Biryani is the primary dish in a meal, while pilau is usually a secondary accompaniment to a larger meal.[9]
Biryanis have more complex and stronger spices than pilau.[9]
Hyderabadi egg biryani served with mirchi ka salan, raita and salad
There are many types of biryani in the Indian subcontinent. Biryani is the single most-ordered dish in Indian online food ordering and delivery services, and has been described as the most popular dish in India.[29][30] The names of variants are often based on their region or city of origin. Some have taken the name of the shop that sells it, as in Fakhruddin Biriyani in Dhaka,[31][32] Students biryani in Karachi, Lucky biryani in Bandra, Mumbai and Baghdadi biryani in Colaba, Mumbai.[18]Biryanis are often specific to the Muslim communities where they originate; they are usually the defining dishes of those communities.[33][34]
Outside the Indian subcontinent
Burmese biryani (danpauk)
Varieties of biryani have arisen in many countries,[35] and was often spread to such places by South Asian diaspora populations.[36] For example in Myanmar, danpauk (ဒံပေါက်) is a mainstay at festive events such as weddings.[37][38] On the Persian Gulf, biryani (Persian: برياني) is usually saffron-based with chicken,[16] while in Indonesia nasi kebuli is an spicy steamed rice dish[39] cooked in goat meat broth, milk and ghee.[40] In Thailand the dish is known as khao mhok (Thai: ข้าวหมก), using chicken, beef or fish, topped with fried garlic and served with a green sour sauce.[41]
In culture
Biryani forms "the centrepiece of countless Indian holidays and weddings".[42] In Bangladesh, kacchi biryani with mutton has been described as "the quintessential wedding dish"[43] of Old Dhaka, largely replacing the murg (chicken) pulao that was favoured in the 20th century[43] for special occasions across the subcontinent.[7] In Delhi, the Muslim festival of Bakr Eid was marked by biryani at dinner, using the mutton from the goats slaughtered in memory of the prophet Abraham, who had shown he was willing even to sacrifice his own son.[42]
Biryani is used across the Indian Subcontinent in celebrations. Annual biryani festivals have been held in cities such as Ambur,[44]Islamabad[45] and Karachi.[46] South Asian diaspora populations have held their own festivals, for example by the North American Indian Muslim Association in North America.[47] Biryani festivals have been held more widely in places such as Singapore[48] and Qatar.[49][50]
123Ravish Kumar interviews historian Sohali Hashmi (9 September 2016). प्राइम टाइम: क्या-क्या अलग करेंगे बिरयानी से?[Prime Time: What will separate from Biryani?] (Television production) (in Hindi). Old Delhi: NDTV. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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