The Fragrant Tale of Biryani

(A version of this article appeared in Food Lover's Magazine Oct-Nov '13 issue)

Since rice is a staple in vast swathes of the subcontinent and is also abundantly available, it assumes great significance on any table both plain as well as in its fragrant avatars as biryanis and pulaos. Although these dishes are ubiquitous today, they have evolved through history and been influenced by the varied foreign influences, rice is no different. Well-cooked rice is an essential part of any meal, either as the basic carbohydrate component or the centrepiece of the table as a biryani or pulao. In both cases, the type of rice used, its cooking time, texture and aroma determines the flavour of the entire meal.

The journey from an 8^th-century caliph’s court in Persia to a 16^th century Mughal war camp to the modern day biryani chains in every city in India, is a tale of conquests, travels and trade relations.  The biryani and pulao or pilaf piggybacked its way into India on the backs of the foreign cooks that accompanied the various merchants, traders and foreign invaders. They were assimilated into the culture in different parts of the country depending on the availability of ingredients, local tastes and the variety of rice that was popular in the region. The earliest biryani can be traced to the 14^thcentury when Timur or Tamerlane, Babur’s ancestor visited India on conquering raids and probably introduced this particular Persian dish into the native cuisine. It was in the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s kitchens that the Indian biryani was born. As Lizzie Collingham writes in her book on the history and culture of Indian cuisine, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerers:

Akbar ensured that the central Asian culture and Persian influences melded with Hindustani culture to create a Mughlai culture which was a synthesis of all three. The same process of synthesis went on in the kitchens. Here the delicately flavoured Persian pilau met the pungent and spicy rice dishes of Hindustan to create the classic Mughlai dish, biryani.

 Travelling across India, one will find a local variant of biryani and pulao in nearly every state of the country. From the long-grained saffron laced goat meat biryani made famous by the Nizams’ kitchens in Hyderabad to the short-grained spice and dry fruit laden Thalassery biryani popular all along the Malabar Coast, there is a nuanced difference of texture, spice levels and cooking techniques that make the biryani a unique and much debated over dish wherever you go. The basic difference between the biryani and pulao lie in their cooking styles rather than ingredients. While the biryani uses the technique of layering parboiled rice and meat and then cooking them in the dum style (cooking by sealing the dish to trap the flavours), the pulao is cooked together with spices, vegetables and/or meat. This is also known as the kachchi or raw style and many debates range over whether a rice dish cooked in the kachchi style is biryani or pulao.

It is a well-known fact that the elegant and flavoursome Basmati is the favourite of biryani makers across the country. Not only does it add to the aroma and texture, it also forms the aesthetic bridge between the local pulao and its sophisticated relative from the city, the lovely biryani. It is this basmati that is the main element in biryanis as diverse as the Calcutta-style biryani with its potato and egg component as well as the Bangalore biryani with its coriander and mint accents. The basmati rules the roost whether it is in the Nizami speciality from Hyderabad or the Awadhi Dum Pukht biryani from the famous chefs of Lucknow. Unfortunately, although the Basmati might be the chosen rice, it is fairly expensive and cannot be the stuff of daily home-cooked meals. There are other cheaper and local varieties of rice that have been adopted to make different types of biryani. The most famous among these is the Kaima or Khyma rice used to make the popular biryani of the Malabar region known as the Thalassery biryani. The medium grained Sona Masuri rice available in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is often used a substitute for Basmati while making biryanis and pulaos and many feel that this version is gentler on the digestive tracts.

Apart from biryanis, there are a number of classic pulaos from various parts of the country which get their unique flavours as much from the local ingredients as from the rice used. Jadoh, a Khasi delicacy from Meghalaya uses short grained rice called Joha which is then mixed with spices, fresh ginger, garlic and meat (usually pork) to create a tasty and wholesome staple which is eaten in households and available at nearly every street corner in specialized Jadoh stalls. Bengalis around the world swear by the delicately flavoured Bengali Mishti Pulao or Sweet Rice made with the incredibly fragrant short-grained Gobindobhog rice which is cooked with peas, cashews, raisins and sugar, ghee and whole spices and coloured yellow with turmeric. This pulao is usually cooked for feasts and festive occasions and is delicious on its own or as an accompaniment to spicy meat and chicken dishes or lentil curries.

Whatever be the rice, one thing is certain that the dish complements its maker and each brings its unique flavour to the pot. Pratibha Karan in her introduction to the bestselling cookbook, Biryani (2009) writes about the striking alchemy between biryani and rice –

The magic of the biryani is the way in which 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.