The biryani is India’s most beloved dish—one that has spread to all the fourcorners of the country and assumed many forms.It originated in the Mughal courts, flowering in the jagirs of Awadh, and it is inLucknow, Delhi and the small Muslim principalities of north India that one findsthe classic versions, subtle, refined, and delicately flavoured. Pratibha Karangives us not just the definitive recipes from these regions but unearths rare andold dishes such as a biryani made with oranges, Rose Biryani and KebabBiryani.In the south, the biryani has an equally distinguished lineage, if not more so.There are the blue-blooded biryanis of Hyderabad which include gems such asthe Doodh ki Biryani, Keeme ki biryani and Bater ki biryani. Away from the royalcourts, the biryani has adapted itself into a spicy local delicacy in Tamil Nadu,with many towns like Salem, Aambur, Dindigul boasting of their own signatureversion of the dish. Kerala too is home to many - a prawn biryani spiced withcurry leaves and aniseed, a mutton one laced with star anise.There are as many stunning variations in the east and west—Goan biryanisusing vinegar and olives; unusual dishes from the Parsi and Sindhi communities;Bengali adaptations using fish and mustard seeds, even a dish from Assam!Immaculately researched, full of extraordinary recipes, and beautifully designedand photographed, Biryani is the ultimate book on this princely dish.
The book presents with dazzling range of biryanis and manages to cover every corner of Indian subcontinent. I mean no other dish can match the grandeur,taste, subtlety and refinement of biryani.
The challenging part is to cook a decent biryani after following the recipe. I shall try for a decent biryani in coming days but you never know.
‘If there is such a thing as food of the gods, it is undoubtedly the biryani. No dish can match it in grandeur, taste, subtlety and refinement. The magic of biryani lies in the way rice is transformed into something ambrosial—absorbing the rich flavours of meat and spice, scented with the dizzying aromas of saffron, rose, jasmine or screwpine; the white grains taking on a gem-like mien.’
For aeons, Biryani has spread through the country and taken many forms. Depending on the place, its culinary history, and the availability of spices, biryanis and pulaos can be manifestly unlike.
Some biryanis, for example, lay emphasis upon one particular ingredient or spice, which then lends its own flavour to the dish.
In Bengal one finds the use of mustard seeds; the biryanis of southern Maharashtra are famed for their use of chillies.Traditionally too, biryanis would be cooked using the local variety of rice, such as the kaima of Kerala or the kala bhaat of Hyderabad which, when cooked, would permeate an entire home with its seductive aroma. Today, however, most biryanis are made with the illustrious long grained basmati rice.
In this book, the author presents before the readers a dazzling range of biryanis, from across the length and breadth of the country.
The author avers that there are more biryanis in south India than the north, despite being associated with the Mughal and Awadhi culinary culture. And south does not mean just Hyderabad. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala have a surfeit of biryanis, with many towns in these states possessing their own signature versions of biryanis.
Similarly, western India, especially Mumbai, home to Muslim communities such as the Khojas and Boris, also boasts of a large variety of biryanis. Only the east, with the exception of Kolkata, seems somewhat bereft. The author, with some effort, was able to locate just one biryani in Assam called the Kampuri Biryani, named after Kampur, the town to which it belongs.
Among all the biryanis, the pure-breds are from Hyderabad. .
It is said that about forty kinds of biryanis alone are made in Hyderabad, which is not surprising on account of its location and history. The cuisine seems to have borrowed something from everywhere, and not just from all over India, but also from Persia and Arabia.
The origin of the word pulao is well known, but the origin of the word biryani seems somewhat hazy. Pulao comes from the Turkish word pilav or pilaf, the Persian word polou and the Spanish word paella. All of them seem to have a common origin.
They say that the word biryani comes from the Persian word birinj, meaning rice, which seems quite plausible. But the Dumpukht restaurants in the ITC chain of hotels claim that birinj means frying before cooking. This hardly leads us to the biryani.
The hotel chain also claims Taimur the Lame brought biryani to India in the 14th century. One is not sure whether the claim is as apocryphal as its claim on the origins of the melting Kakori Kabab — that it was invented for an Awadh king who could not chew as he had lost all his teeth.
In all probability, the pulao (if not the biryani) originated as a war meal. After a day’s battle, the cooks could not be expected to organize a meal in courses for the soldiers, except maybe for the generals and the kings.
So they would cook rice with meat or poultry and maybe vegetables thrown in, in one huge deg or pot, thus giving the world this delicious dish.
What is pulao, and what is biryani? Talk of their differences is unending, but in actual fact, there is a very fine dividing line between the two.
Both are rice dishes cooked with meat, poultry, seafood or even vegetables and both can be absolutely irresistible. Though the procedure of cooking them is quite different, there prevails an amusing mix-up among them, with some pulaos being named as biryanis and vice versa.
For instance, the Hyderabadi Doodh ki Biryani is actually made the pulao way. Again, the Hyderabadi Keeme ki Khichdi is not a khichdi but a biryani. And there is one biryani, also outstanding in taste, that is not made with rice but with vermicelli.
Generally speaking, the following are the distinguishing features of the two.
1) The cardinal principle of a biryani is that it is made by the method of layering in a pan, with rice being the first layer and the last layer, and meat, fish, poultry or vegetables constituting the middle layer.
2) Sometimes, there are just two layers, with rice constituting the first and meat, poultry or fish constituting the upper layer and vice versa.
3) Sometimes rice and meat or poultry or vegetables are also arranged in four alternating layers. In the pulaos, however, there is no layering and the rice and all the other ingredients are cooked together, in a kind of potpourri.
Generally, biryanis are scented with saffron, rose, screwpine or jasmine, whereas pulaos are hardly embellished with any essence. Biryanis also use more spices than pulaos, and are wetter than pulaos. In pulaos, on the other hand, whole spices (khada masala) are used more often.
Biryanis are generally made with par-boiled rice whereas pulaos are cooked in just sufficient water and, when done, the rice fully absorbs the water. A lot of pulaos are also made in chicken or mutton stock.
One thing that is common to biryanis and pulaos is that towards the end both are cooked on slow fire. This procedure is called dum. The cover of the pot is either sealed with dough or a heavy stone is placed on top of it. Alternately, hot coals are placed both under the pot and on the lid.
The author has divided her book into four parts, each signifying a zonal division of India, viz. North, South, East and West.
A) North – Key points:
1) The Mughals are recurrently supposed to have introduced the custom of biryanis in India. As their seat of power was in north India, one would have expected more biryanis and pulaos in this part of the country. But the truth is that there are more biryanis in the south, not just in Hyderabad but also in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. One reason for this could be that north Indians are not essentially rice eaters.
2) Also, the north has historically been in the throttlehold of vegetarianism as much of the Hindu north, consisting first and foremost of Brahmins and Vaisyas, have always been vegetarian.
3) Biryanis did develop in the north, but in the Muslim centres—in the Mughal capital of Delhi, the Awadh centre of Lucknow and in the small principalities ruled by Muslim princes. Though it might be argued that Delhi and Lucknow are habitually not biryani but pulao places, the fact remains and, as the recipes that follow will show, some of the most superb biryanis in the subcontinent are made in these two places today.
4) Both the Mughlai and Awadhi food is highly delicate and sophisticated, as are their pulaos and biryanis. They are also lighter in colour because of the use of yoghurt and dry fruits, especially almonds. During the Mughal era, Hindu vegetarianism also absorbed many of influences of the non-vegetarian dishes. Thus, we find a large number of vegetarian pulaos and some vegetarian biryanis in this region as well.
B) South – Key points:
1) The south Indian being basically a rice eater, and with the biryani being a meal by itself, is perchance why it found ready and instant acceptance. The biryanis in the south are, in particular, marked by their usage of spices although each state has its own discrete approach.
2) Hyderabad, of course, has its own iconic status as the home of true blue-blooded biryanis. You will find many of these in this section, unusual and elegant dishes such as Dumpokht Biryani, Doodh ki Biryani, Korme ki Biryani and Pasande ki Biryani. Pulaos are almost non-existent in the south, except in Hyderabad. But, unlike the north, Hyderabad scarcely has any vegetarian pulaos.
3) Though Tamil Nadu cannot boast of any significant Muslim dynasty, many of its towns are famous for their biryanis. The Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu has a rich tradition of fiery non-vegetarian dishes, biryani being one among them. They include Dindigul, Salem, and Aambur biryanis among others. These biryanis may seem the same but possess subtle differences in aroma and flavour.
4) Karnataka too has a wide variety of biryanis that include not just the Coorgi Mutton biryani, but Bhatkali Biryani and the South Canara Chicken Biryani, but seafood varieties such as the Mangalore Fish Biryani and the Karwar Prawn Biryani. Only the Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh does not seem to have many biryanis.
5) Kerala is in a separate league. It boasts of several chicken, mutton and seafood biryanis. It has a strong Muslim presence and it’s worth noting that Islam did not really come here from the north but largely, like Christianity, via the sea. In addition, God’s own country, as it calls itself, has been blessed with the finest spices, including cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, peppercorns, etc. No other Indian state, except maybe to some extent Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, can claim this privilege. Because of this, unusual spices such as star anise have made their way into the biryanis of the state.
C) East - Key points:
1) East India has a rich culinary history, particularly in Bengal. Apart from its own rich cuisine, Bengal has also seen the flowering of royal Muslim cuisine such as the inimitable bakhar khani roti, gifted to us by Bakhar Khan, the governor of Bengal. As the Mughal Empire in Delhi started decaying, Bengal witnessed the flowering of the satrap courts at Dacca and Murshidabad.
2) After the state of Murshidabad collapsed, the Nawab took refuge in Kolkata. Correspondingly, after Tipu Sultan of Mysore was killed in battle, his family relocated to Kolkata. Last but not least, when the British deposed the Awadh ruler, Wajid Ali Shah, he too was exiled to Kolkata. These royal families brought with them their own range of pulaos and biryanis, the kormas and kaliyas and various other dishes that had evolved in Mughal and Awadh courts.
3) In due course, several of the biryanis underwent Bengali orientation, acquiring their own special flavour with the use of fish and mustard seeds.
4) Bihar seems to lack a biryani repertoire and I could locate just one chicken and mutton recipe.
5) Assam, too, lacks a wide range although we have from the state, the famous Kampuri biryani, native to the town of Kampur.
6) The seven north–eastern states, even the erstwhile princely states of Manipur and Tripura, do not seem to have any tradition of biryanis.
D) West - Key points:
1) The culinary history of western India is markedly more vegetarian than other parts of India. Though Gujarat has a considerable Muslim resence, it has always been dominated by Hindu vegetarianism. In fact, it is very difficult to get non–vegetarian food in the restaurants of most Gujarat towns, except in five star hotels or in the Muslim areas.
2) Gujarat does have seafood, mutton and chicken dishes, but these come from the princely houses of the state, the Muslim community and the business communities of the Khojas and Bohris, and the Parsis. Thus, most of the biryani recipes come from them as well.
3) Maharashtra is no different, though some Hindu sub–castes and Hindu princely families have contributed greatly to Maharashtra’s non–vegetarian culture. Mumbai is a very cosmopolitan city and it too boasts of excellent Parsi, Khoja, Bohri, and Sindhi cuisine. Its biryani is characterized by its use of potatoes and tomatoes and its street biryani, called the Tawa Biryani, is much sought after. Most of the Khoja, Bohri and Parsi dishes included in this section come from Mumbai rather than Gujarat.
This book speaks of the regional variations that arise in the preparation and cooking of every dish. The recipes are minutely mentiones. I have cross-references them with all the existing texts.
We Indians have reinvented this dish in more ways than they have been reinvented anywhere else in the world. This book also apeaks of the Relishes – the raita or the Chat, that most of us are aware of. The use of accompaniments is a matter of individual choice. Purists consider it sacrilegious to tamper with the biryani flavour with anything, even a dahi or raita.
In actual fact, relishes, which embrace raitas, are preferred more with pulaos as they are usually drier. Hyderabadis prefer a raita of onions with yoghurt as the onions add a crunch to the biryani.
In the south, they insist on pachidi, again a raita simply dressed with coriander and green chillies.
Others like just chopped green chillies and chopped onions with their biryani while many like to add korma or mirchi ka saalan gravy to the dish.
The pictures provided in this text are plainly sparkling.
In this book, the author presents before the readers a dazzling range of biryanis, from across the length and breadth of the country.
I haven’t a single iota of uncertainty in my mind to say publicly that this is the most excellent English book on Indian Biryani that I’ve as yet read.
It's secret lies in it's simplicity- of instructions and technique- and the range of recipes it offers. Hopefully subsequent editions might see an addition or two from my home state Chhattisgarh where rice and meat remain the two most central ingredients of our diet.