Where did Briyani, the indian rice dish originate from?!
Where did Briyani, the indian rice dish originate from?
Some people say hydrabad, some say india.Anyways where can you find the best briyani?
Answers: Hyderabad Biryanis are world famous, but the dish is a Moghul influence. Moghuls were invaders most likely from Persia.
The name biryani or biriani (Nastaliq ?????? ;Devanagari ???????) is derived from the Persian word beryń(n) (?????) which means "fried" or "roasted". Biryani is a family of Middle Eastern, South Asian dishes made from a mixture of spices, rice (usually basmati), meat/vegetables and yogurt. There are many kinds of biryanis and each kind has a uniqueness about it. Pre-mixed biryani spices from different commercial names are easily available in markets these days, which reduces the preparation time though the taste differs considerably.
The spices and condiments used in biryani are what primarily contribute to the taste; these are generally cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, wasabi, bay leaves, coriander and mint leaves, apart from ghee, ginger, onions, garlic and yoghurt. The premium varieties include saffron. For a non-vegetarian biryani, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the meat—beef, chicken, goat, lamb,or shrimp, though vegetable biryani varieties are also popular. The dish is served with raita, korma, curry or a sour dish of brinjal.
Hyderabadi Biryani is by far the most popular version non-vegetarian type, especially in India and the Middle East. Hyderabadi biryani is savoured in all parts of India and forms an integral part of Indian cuisine. Historians claim that the earlier Nawabs of Punjab wore a matching turban for each variety of biryani. The Nizam's kitchen boasted of 49 kinds, which included biryani made from fish, quail, shrimp, deer and hare. The Sindhi variant of biryani is very popular in Pakistani cuisine and biryani of all types are eaten in all parts of Pakistan. Another popular form of biryani is the Awadhi biryani.
Although there are many stories about the origin of biryani, the most plausible one seems to be that it was brought to India by the Moghul conquerer, Taimur the Lame from Persia, when he invaded India in the 14th century. "Birian" means fried before cooking in Persian.
However, once it landed here, the biryani was nurtured and made more and more flavourful by the Mughal dynasty in India. From the northernmost reaches of India, to its southernmost shores, and from its eastern corners to its western boundaries, biryani is cooked everywhere, taking in the spices, cooking styles, and flavours of the regions where it's prepared.
Lucknow, which was a prime Mughal bastion in north India, saw the emergence of Lucknowi or Awadhi biryani. When the British invaded India, this biryani travelled to Calcutta (now Kolkata), the capital of Bengal, in eastern India. There, it entered the kitchen of ordinary folks, who replaced the meat with potatoes. And that's how biryani in Calcutta still has potatoes in it. Along with the meat and rice of course.
This heavenly delicacy made its journey down south, when the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb invaded the south. He installed an authority figure called the Nizam ul Mulk there, who emerged as the ruler of the southern Indian province of Hyderabad later. It was in the Nizam's kitchen that the famous Hyderabadi biryani had its origins. There are two main kinds of H'badi biryani--Katchi biryani, in which the meat is marinated in curd (yoghurt) and then steamed with the rice; and Pakki biryani, which has the meat cooked first with all the different spices, and then the rice is simmered with the gravy of the cooked meat and is sealed in an earthen pot with saffron.
How will you know if you cooked the perfect biryani? Here are a couple of tips:
1) It should be aromatic. With Basmati rice and all those fragrant spices, that shouldn't be a trouble.
and here's the more important one:
2) Drop a handful of biryani (okay, a spoonful would do) on a hard surface. If no two grains of rice stick to each other, pat yourself on the back. Your biryani h