Evolution of Love 2

Biryani

Love for Biryani
Biryani, as we know, is a Mughal influence on Indian food and culture; and it’s well known that Indian culture and heritage is blessed with ancient knowledge of spices and ingredients. And through this was created the gastronomic delight of Biryani that has evolved over time and space. The Indian adaptation of biryani is far superior in flavor and richer than the original biryani that travelled to India from Iran.

In Southern India there already existed a dish similar to Biryani – rice cooked along with meat (in the Sangam Era) . Armed with the deep working knowledge of spices, almost every Indian region made the Irani biryani its own; thereby, creating an array of biryanis, each as unique as the landscape it originated from.

I love experimenting with different biryanis and have a passion to understand the journey that each type of biryani took to reach its current culinary standing. Following are thirteen of the biryanis that I have tasted and experimented with so far(cooking process & methods are different for each style). I’m sure that I might have missed some region’s specialty, if so, please do bring it to my notice, I would love to try new variants.

1. Kashmir – this is a pulao variety garnished with dried fruits and nuts.
2. Punjab – has several popular pulao varieties
3. Delhi’s Degi Biryani – also known as Purani Delhi Style, it has no onions and no tomatoes. However, the new variant has brishta in layering; while the Moradabadi style Biryani is one where Yakhni is cooked with potli masala and cooked like Pulao
4. Bombay Biryani - marinated meat with dried plums, cooked on dum
5. Sindhi Biryani of the Sind region – tangy and spicy, along with dried plums
6. Sindhi Biryani of Indian Origin – this is distinctive because it’s cooked only with goat liver!
7. Hyderabadi – there are two varieties - kache gosht and pakki gosht ki biryani
8. Awadi – light and high on aroma and flavor. Generous use of saffron, milk and kewra
9. Kolkatta- influenced by Awadhi, this is a distinctive style cooked with potatoes
10. Tamil Nadu : the hub of all Biryanis! – there are many varieties Dakhni Style, Tamil Muslim or Wedding Style, Wood Fire Cooked, Arcot Style, Rawther Style, Zeera Samba varieties (like Dindigal, Salem) & White Biryani of Coimbatore.
11. Karnataka – Zeera Samba Style, Donne Biryani & Mangalore Style Biryani. The Biery Style is a very flavourful and rich Biryani with lots of masala and layers. It’s topped with nuts and given dum in banana leaf for extra flavour. Bhaktali Biryani is a flavourful and tasty variety of biryani from the coastal region of Karnataka. It’s specialty is the use of green chillies (no red chilli added).
12. Kerala - Malabar style white biryani; variants like Thalasherry and Calicut or Thrissur biryani exist.
13. Memoni style - lots of masala, spices and potatoes. Also has a popular Kheema Mansoor pulao.
14. Latest creations like Tikka Biryani, Hara Kabab Biryani, Butter Chicken Biryani, White Biryani etc