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I want to acknowledge Vishy Shenoy for his
critic to this article.
Biryani is derived from the Farsi word 'Birian'. Based on the
name, and cooking style (Dum), one can conclude that the dish originated in
Persia and/or Arabia. It could have come from Persia via Afghanistan to North
India. It could have also been brought by the Arab traders via Arabian sea to
Calicut. We know the history little better during 1800 to 1900. During Mogul
empire, Lucknow was known as Awadh, giving rise to Awadhi Biryani. In 1856,
British deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah in Calcutta, giving rise to Calcutta
Biryani. Aurangzeb installed Nizam-ul-mulk as the Asfa Jahi ruler of
Hyderabad, as well as a 'Nawab of Arcot' to oversee Aaru Kaadu region (Six
Forrests) south of Hyderabad. These moves gave rise to Hyderabadi Biryani and
Arcot Biryani. The Biryani spread to Mysore by Tipu Sultan of Carnatic.
Needless to say it was a royal dish for Nawabs and Nizams. They hired
vegetarian Hindus as bookkeepers leading to the development of Tahiri
Biryani.
Besides the historical facts, the story gets little fuzzy with legends.
One legend has it that Timor, the lame brought it down from
Kazakhstan via Afghanistan to Northern India. According to another
legend, Mumtaz Mahal (the beauty who sleeps in Taj Mahal) concocted this dish
as a "complete meal" to feed the army. Yet, some say the dish
really originated in West Asia. The Nomads would burry an earthen pot full of
meat, rice and spices in a pit, eventually the pot was dug up and there was
the Biryani.
I don't want to leave this topic without mentioning at least the names of Turkish Pilaf, Iranian Biryani, Quaboli, Malaysian Biryani, Indonesian Biryani, Sindhi Biryani Idiyappam Biryani from Sri Lanka, and and Kashmiri Yakhni Biryani.
What is Biryani?
Biryani is derived from the Persian word 'Birian'. In
Farsi, Birian means 'Fried before Cooking'.
In the olden days, rice was fried (without washing) in Ghee (Clarified butter). It did two things: 1. It gave the rice a nutty flavor 2. It burned the outside starch layer gelatinizing it. After the rice is stir-fried, it was boiled in water with spices till half cooked.
Preferred choice choice for meat is leg of Telangana goat.
The meat is marinated in a paste of with Papaya, whole-milk yogurt and
spices. Thereafter, the meat may be cooked.
In an earthen pot called Handi, the rice and meat are layered, bottom and top layer are always rice. An interlayer of some condiments may be introduced between the meat and the rice. Cardamom, Mace, Screwpine essence, rose water may be added to give flowery and herbal aroma. The Handi is sealed and put on the coal embers to cook. For Calicut Biryani, the Handi is placed on the embers produced by coconut shell. The seal is broken only when ready to serve.
What type of rice to make
Biryani?
Historically, long-grain brown rice was used in North India;
while, short grain Zeera Samba rice was used in South India. In Bangladesh,
puffed rice is used. Parboiled long grain rice has following advantages:
1) Long grain rice has low Amylopectin starch, making it less sticky. 2) Parboiling makes the starch gelatinized making it further less susceptible to being sticky. 3) The brownness of the rice is due to the bran on the rice. The bran gives the 'chewy' texture to the grain. Most common rice used today, is white Basmati rice. |
Types of Meat Biryani
There
are two basic types of Biryani, namely; Kutchi (raw) Biryani, and Pukki (cooked) Biryani. Kutchi Biryani does not meet the
strict meaning of Biran in Farsi meaning 'Fried before Cooking'; while Pukki
Biryani comes close. For Kutchi Biryani, raw marinated meat is layered with raw
rice. For Pukki Biryani, cooked meat and cooked rice are layered and put in
Handi for the finish.
At
present, there are two competing types of Biryani served in India: Lucknow, and
Hyderabad. Lucknow Biryani is a type of Pukki Biryani. Hyderabad Biryani is a
form of Kutchi Biryani.
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