What is Biryani?
A world-renowned Indian dish, biryani takes time and practice to make but is worth every bit of the effort. Long-grained rice (like basmati) flavored with exotic spices, such as saffron, is layered with lamb, chicken, fish, or vegetables, and a thick gravy. The dish is then covered, its lid secured with dough, and then the biryani is cooked over a low flame. This is definitely a special occasion dish.
There is much debate of how this dish came to be, but most agree that its origins began in Persia as a rustic rice and meat dish and then traveled to India. The various recipes of biryani were then born, mainly where there was culinary influence from Muslim foods, particularly in the city of Hyderabad, in south India, but also along the southern coast. Biryani's many, many variations depend on where the dish is based. Some differences are subtle while others are distinguished by added or substituted ingredients.
The Components of Biryani
The main components of this dish are rice, meat, marinade, and spices. Basmati rice is definitely prevalent, but you will also find other grains such as seeraga samba and jeerakasala. Depending on where the biryani is from will determine the type of protein; coastal regions, for example, will include fish and shrimp, while inland areas may incorporate chicken, goat, mutton, and beef (mainly buffalo, but if cow, would be outside of India).
The meat is usually marinated before being cooked, and the most common marinade is yogurt-spiced based as the acid in the yogurt helps to tenderize the meat. It is the layers of spices that give a biryani its complex flavor, and these spices can be whole or ground, or individual or a spice mix (such as garam masala). Herbs and seeds may also be a part of the dish, which is often topped with caramelized onion, dried or fresh fruit, nuts, and fresh herbs.
Many biryanis are cooked using the Dum style of cooking. Dum pukht is a traditional cooking method that can be traced to the royal kitchens of the Awadh region in India and the words “dum” and “pukht” mean to breathe and to cook, respectively. This technique involves placing the food in a heavy-bottomed brass or clay pot called a handi, sealing it tightly with dough and cooking it over a low flame. Food, especially meat, is cooked this way, usually with the bone on and with very few spices. “The slow cooking ensures that all the flavours are slowly released. The marrow from the bone forms a nice gravy and because of the tight lid, all the flavours are sealed inside the vessel and absorbed by the food,” the chef explains.
Types of Biryani
There are several main types of biryani that are specific to certain communities. Each variety is named after the place it was created.
Sindhi biryani: This exotic and aromatic type of biryani is popular in Pakistan and known for its spicy taste, fragrant rice, and delicate meat. It is made with meat and Basmati rice, vegetables, and various types of spices.
Sindhi Biryani is a dish that originated in Sindh province (now part of Pakistan), hence the name. This biryani is made from the generous use of chopped chillies, roasted spices, mint and coriander leaves, onions, nuts, dried fruits and sour yogurt, making the flavour piquant and aromatic. Added to this biryani are plums and potatoes for good measure.
Hyderabadi biryani (also known as Hyderabadi dum biryani): This biryani is one of India's most popular types of biryani. It incorporates goat meat that is marinated and cooked along with the rice and is seasoned with coconut and saffron. The dish is cooked on low heat, or "dum", to create a fragrant flavor.
Believed to have originated from the kitchen of the Hyderabad’s Nizam, there are two types of Hyderabadi Biryani – Pakki (means cooked in Hindi) and Kacchi (means raw in Hindi). The Pakki Hyderabadi Biryani involves cooking of basmatic rice and meat separately and then layering them together. While the Kacchi (raw) Hyderabadi Biryani is made from the raw marinated meat (chicken or lamb) placed between the layers of basmati rice infused with saffron, onions and dried fruits, both are slow-cooked in a dough-sealed earthen pot over charcoal fire, which results in rich, aromatic and punchy biryani. If you go out for a meal with a local, more likely than not, you will have either one of the variants of Hyderabadi biryani.
Dum is a way of cooking Biryani wherein you place layers of under-cooked rice on a bed of marinated meat and seal it. Dum means sealing. On the other hand “Hyderabadi” is the variety of biryani that originated in Hyderabad. All Hyderabadi biryanis are Dum biryanis. If it's not dum, it's not Hyderabadi. A non-dum biryani is when you mix and cook rice and meat together. Infact it cannot even be called Biryani. Its a pulav.
- posted by Kamaal Ahmed on Quora
Dum biryani, on the other hand, is cooked using a more elaborate "dum" or "pot-in-pot" method. In this method, the partially cooked rice and curry/meat mixture are layered in a pot, which is then sealed tightly and cooked over low heat. The pot is sealed, trapping the steam inside, which slowly cooks the dish through indirect heat. This results in the flavors infusing deeply into the rice and meat.
Malabar Biriyani: This is the only version of Biryani in Kerala, an Indian state. It is a popular dish eaten by the Malabar Muslim community and incorporates Khyma rice mixed with ghee.
Thalassery Biryani. Sweet and spicy, this biryani hails from the Malabar region, specifically Kerala. The variation of biryani in this region is as plentiful and diverse as the cultures and ethnic groups within. The Thalassery Biryani, for instance, makes use of an indigenous variety of rice – Khyma or Jeerakasala – instead of the basmati rice that is used traditionally. Other ingredients used in this biryani include Malabar spices, meat or chicken, fried onions, fennel seeds, sauteed cashews and raisins. The Khyma is cooked separately from the meat, and mixed together only at the time of serving.
Calcutta/Kolkata biryani: This biryani mostly uses potatoes and eggs and only sometimes contains meat. It is much lighter spice wise; the marinade is made of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and other spices, and the rice is flavored with ketaki or rose water and is yellow in color.
Calcutta Biryani originates from Kolkata, although it has roots tracing back to the Awadhi style biryani of Lucknow. Characterised by subtle flavours with a tinge of sweetness and more sparing use of spices, it is cooked with light yellow rice, which is layered with yogurt-based meat, soft boiled eggs and potatoes. Add to that, saffron, nutmeg and kewra, which lends a soothing aroma to the biryani.
Ambur biryani: This leather-tanning city in Tamil Nadu makes one of the most famous types of biryani, and the town has more biryani shops than any other city in the world. The meat and rice are cooked separately and then brought together, along with mint leaves and curd.
Ambur Biryani is an unmissable travelling experience in itself when visiting Tamil Nadu. Like other variations of biryani, this one also has meat (chicken or mutton), but what makes it different is the way the meat is prepared. The meat is soaked in curd and flavoured with coriander and mint, and then added to the cooked Seeraga samba rice, along with other spices. Savouring it with brinjal curry, ennai kathirikai, is every biryani-lover’s delight.
Lucknowi biryani: This type of biryani is based on a Persian cooking style so it uses the dum pukht method where the meat and gravy are only cooked partially and are then layered and served in a sealed handi. The spice profile is not as intense.
Also known as the ‘Awadhi biryani’, the Lucknowi Biryani stands out due to its cooking style, known as dum pukht. The meat (or chicken) infused with spices is partially cooked separately from rice, which is flavoured with saffron, star anise and cinnamon. Both the meat and rice are then layered together in a handi (deep-bottomed vessel) and cooked for hours until the flavours deeply penetrate. The end result is soft Lucknowi biryani with mild flavours.
Mughlai biryani: This biryani is cooked with curd, chicken, almond paste, ghee, dry fruits, and green chilies, and has a rich flavor
Kalyani biryani: Small chunks of buffalo meat go into this form of biryani, which is known as the "poor man's Hyderabadi biryani." It is rich and flavorful but does not include more expensive ingredients.
Kalyani Biryani, the ‘Poor man’s Hyderabadi biryani’ as it is often dubbed, is said to have originated from the Bidar city (Karnataka). Consisting of buffalo meat and an array of spices, coriander and tomatoes, the Kalyani biryani is flavourful and tangy. Although it doesn’t have ingredients like the popular Hyderabadi biryani, the taste and pleasant aroma remain the same.
Bombay Biryani: is worth the trip to Mumbai in itself. It is composed of chicken (mutton or vegetables), fried and spiced potatoes, kewra water (screw pine) and dried plums that make the flavour distinctively sweet, tangy and aromatic.
Dindigul Biryani: is an ever-popular dish that can be found at several outlets across Chennai. It is strong and tangy in flavour, which is derived from curd and lemon, mixed with cube-sized meat (mutton or chicken) and jeera samba rice. Also, a lot of pepper is used to give it a full-on zesty flavour.
Tehari Biryani: The traditional biryani is made from meat, but Tehari biryani is served without it. Legend has it that this biryani was created for the vegetarian Hindu bookkeepers at the Mughal court, and since then, it has become one of the popular dishes among vegetarians across the North India region. This biryani consists of potatoes, carrots, several veggies and an array of spices, making the taste hearty and savoury.
