CHENNAI: Biryani is much more than a one-pot nutritious dish of rice and meat. The addition and deletion of a couple of spices, a slight change in the cooking technique, and the type of rice used completely change the end product resulting in myriad varieties of biryani. As we have already explored the biryani varieties from the southern states of India, let’s move to the other parts of the country and explore the variants there.
Bombay/Mumbai/Degchi Biryani from the Mumbai region is a type of layered biryani where flavoured basmati rice, potatoes, meat, fried onions, and dried plums are layered and cooked in the dum method. A dollop of melted ghee goes on top of this biryani and is distinguished by the tinge of sweetness from the plums and caramelised onions. The presence of large chunks of fried potatoes adds a new dimension to the dish. Surprisingly, potatoes are a staple in the biryani made in both eastern and western India. The dum cooking technique and the addition of saffron milk make this biryani flavourful.
The Parsi Berry Pulao, a signature dish of the Parsi community, is famous in this region and is a very close cousin of biryani. This one-pot meal is made with meat, fried onion, and rice along with the unique zereshk berries giving it a sweet and sour taste, which has a huge fan following.
As you travel further in the north-western direction, you reach the Kutch region. Their culinary directory has the famous Memoni/Kutchi/Sindhi Biryani. This variant was introduced by the Memonsan ethnic trading community who migrated from the Sind area of Pakistan. The addition of potatoes, dried plums, loads of mint, coriander, and lemon slices make this biryani fresh and zesty. The layering and then the slow, long cooking process gives us fluffy rice with an almost crispy bottom crust, very similar to the Persian tahdig.
Up north, in Kashmir, you get the much-debated ‘vegetarian biryani’. Though biryani is generally made with meat, a version loaded with vegetables called the Tahari Biryani is famous here. The Hindu Pandits, being vegetarians, did not want to miss out on this delicacy and substituted meat with potatoes and vegetables. This is often made without onion or garlic. The addition of asafoetida, ground fennel seeds, dry ginger, and garam masala contribute to the savoury note of this dish and the addition of nuts gives it texture.
The non-vegetarian version of a Kashmiri biryani is more a pulao as the rice is just cooked with ghee and saffron and then layered with the meat that has been cooked with spices.
As you travel to the south of Kashmir, to Uttar Pradesh, you are introduced to the Awadhi or Lucknowi biryani that rules the roost. Awadhi/Nawabi cuisine has influences from Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Mughal cooking techniques. The Awadhi biryani is known as the King of Biryanis. It is cooked in the dum pukht style where the meat is marinated in spices, cooked partially separately, and then layered with partially cooked rice, sealed, and cooked slowly for a long time allowing the flavours to seep in. The Lucknowi biryani is lighter on spices and hence lighter on the tummy and is closer to the Middle Eastern pulao — subtle and fragrant.
Moving eastward, we come across another famous type of biryani called the Kolkata Biryani. This also has a Mughal touch and a large piece of fried potato and egg are served along with the meat making it scrumptious. This biryani is believed to have come to Kolkata along with Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the ruler of Awadh who was deported to Bengal by the British. Since meat was an expensive commodity then, fried potatoes were added. They absorbed the flavours so well that it soon became a crowd favourite and then became a staple in the region. This biryani uses a lot of spices like nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and cloves along with rose water imparting a distinctive flavour.
There are more than 25 varieties of biryani in India, and each one has something unique and addictive. Every Indian has a favourite type of biryani and they vouch for it to be the best. While we foodies are divided by the many variants, we are united by the love for biryani.
Kolkata biryani
Chicken: 1 kg
Oil plus ghee: 2/3 cup/150 ml
Onion, sliced: 2 cups/250 g
Ginger paste: 1 tbsp
Garlic paste (watery):2 tbsp
Cardamom: 4-5
Cloves: 4-5
Cinnamon stick: 1
Nutmeg: 1/8
Chilli powder: 2-3 tsp
Curd: ½ cup/120 g
Kewra water: 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Milk: ¾ cup/180ml
Mace powder (javitri): a generous pinch
Black cardamom: 2
Saffron: a generous pinch
For rice
Salt: 3 tbsp Green chilli: 1-2 Cardamom: 3-4
Cloves: 3-4 Oil: a dash
Basmati rice: 750 g
Saffron (dissolved): 3 tbsp
Dough for sealing Method
Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes.
Heat oil and ghee. Fry the onion in medium flame till they are browned. Now, add ginger and garlic pastes and sauté for a few minutes.
Add all the whole spices followed by the chicken. Once the meat is cooked, add chilli powder and salt and cook for 10 minutes.
Now, add curd, kewra essence, and saffron water and cook for a minute. Add the milk. Cook till the gravy is thick.
Heat about three litres of water adding salt, spices, and oil. Add the rice and cook till it is 60 percent done.
Layer the gravy and the rice alternatively starting with the meat. Seal the vessel with a dough.
Cook on medium flame for five minutes and on very low flame for 15 minutes.
Open after 20 minutes, fluff it up, and serve hot.