Biryani   &  Pulao

 

Biryani, a Mughal dish in original is very popular combination of Rice, with Mutton, or Chicken or Vegetables cooked together to make delicious food, it is now very popular all over the world.

It is like casserole dishes of the west where all the ingredients are assembled and cooked together. It is a unique combination of rice, meat, yoghurt and various spices, sometimes as many as 21 spices which include rare spices like saffron and rose petals.

It has probably originated from Mughals whose cuisine had a wonderful Persian influence. The Nizam's kitchen in Hyderabad had as many as 50 varieties of Biryani. The Sindhi version of Biryani is very popular in our neighbor hood country Pakistan

The most common version of Biryani is rice with meat or chicken, however vegetarian Biryani has become a house holds dish all over India.

The vegetarian Biryani is also known as Tehri Biryani. The Hyderabadi Biryani and Lucknawi Biryani is very popular dish and cooked all over the world on special occasion. Biryani is usually served with raita, korma or curry.

In this section, Recipe for various kind of Biryani has been illustrated in very simple way to make Biryani in the easiest way. Biryani should be cooked in desi ghee to have the ultimate taste.

                                       

                          Difference Between Biryani & Pulao

 

In Biryani, the parboiled rice is layered twice or more between the spices and the meat, and are all cooked together.
In a Pulao, however the stock of meat or vegitables or even plain wtaer is added and the rice is cooked with the spices to absorbs the flavor.

Pulao is made by the absorption method of cooking rice where as Biryani is made by the draining the excess water and then cooking rice with meat or vegitables. In Pulao the base ingredient is mixed with the rice, while in biryani the main ingredient is at the base of the vessel. The Biryani is normalyy cooked with lot of aromatic masala where as the Pulaos are relatively less spicy

                                               

                                 Hydarabadi Biryani

 

Hyderabadi Biryani is a famous meat and rice dish of Hyderabad, India.

It is a traditional celebration meal made using goat meat and rice and is a staple of Hyderabadi cuisine. This variety is popular in the city of Hyderabad, India. The blending of Mughlai and Telangana cuisines in the kitchens of the Nizam, ruler of the historic Hyderabad State, resulted in the creation of Hyderabadi Biryani.

Biryani was brought to Hyderabad by the invading Mughal army of Aurangazeb under the command of Khwaja Abid, the grandfather of the first Nizam of Hyderabad.

As traditional food, such as cooked rice and/or roti (a type of Indian bread) and an assortment of soups and curries, would be too time consuming to prepare and eat in times of war, the Biryani was developed as a way of getting quick food to the troops.

The ingredients are basmati rice,meat, curd, onions, spices, lemon, saffron. Coriander and fried onions used as garnish.

The preferred meat is mutton.or chicken

                                     Mutton Biryani

 

Hyderabadi biryani is of two types, the Kacchi (raw) Biryani and the Pakki biryani

Kachchi biryani is prepared with raw meat, which is marinated in curd and then cooked along with the rice by sealing the handi (vessel) with a layer of dough, and is cooked on dum - steaming over coals. This is a challenging process as it requires meticulous attention to time and temperature to avoid over- or under-cooking the meat.

 

In Pakki biryani, the meat marinating time is shorter, and the meat is cooked before being layered with the rice and cooked in a dough-sealed vessel. In Pakki Yakhni (with cooked gravy), the ingredients are already cooked before baking.

The gravy is redolent of mace, ittar and kewra. Saffron and cardamom are also used.A biryani is accompanied with Dahi chutney (curd & onions); Mirchi ka salan - a green chili curry.

 

The salad includes onion, carrot, cucumber, & lemon wedges.

 Note:

 For Non Veg Biryani recipes, kindly visit the Rasvyanjan Non Veg Recipes page

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