The journey of biryani

While legend has it that Turkic ruler Tamerlane was responsible for biryani’s entry into India, hidden in layers of rice, spices and succulent meat are little stories of people who have Indianised it into different variants. Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy follow India’s biryani trail

In a dark sooty kitchen in Mysuru’s Lashkar Mohalla, with only a shaft of light slanting through a glass tile, Sadiq bhai stirred a huge cauldron of boiling oil sizzling with onions. Two wide steel vessels had the choicest cuts of fresh pink meat. In another vessel, water was already on the boil and a woven basket on the floor held a heap of washed rice waiting to be transformed into Nasheman’s signature mutton biryani. Sadiq bhai was one of the countless practitioners of a well-guarded craft using secrets handed down by elders. 

There is something remarkable in the manner in which humble rice is elevated to a heavenly dish fit for kings and commoners alike, with just a play of ingredients, flavours and techniques. In Tamil Nadu, an ancient text refers to “oon soru”, a dish of rice, clarified butter, bay leaf, turmeric, coriander, pepper and meat that was served to warriors. Though synonymous with Indian cuisine, the biryani is an import from West Asia, more specifically, Persia. The word biryani is thought to have originated from the Persian ‘birian’, or ‘fried before cooking’, or ‘birinj’, meaning rice.

The washed rice is fried in butter or ghee before being cooked in boiling water — this not only imparted a mild nuttiness to the rice, but also ensured that the grains retained their shape after cooking.

Since medieval times, the recipe of a good biryani has been simple — rice and meat set in layers with spices varying from few to 15. Traditionally, long-grain brown rice was used; now the scented basmati rice is preferred. In South India, local varieties like kaima or jeerige sanna provide their own distinct flavour to the dish. The meats vary from goat, sheep, poultry, beef, eggs to seafood. Fragrance heightens its appeal and biryanis are scented with rosewater, ittar, kewra water and saffron. The cooking technique can be kachchi (raw) where the meat is layered with raw rice in a handi or pot, or pakki (cooked) where cooked rice and meat are layered together.

Legend has it that Turkic conqueror and founder of the Timurid Empire, Tamerlane, was responsible for biryani’s entry into India. Apparently, in 1398, he served a rudimentary form of biryani to his soldiers at India’s frontiers. The hearty dish of rice, spices and meats was slow-cooked in hot buried pits which were dug out at meal time. While biryani may have martial origins, there was always a certain romance associated with it. Perhaps the fact that Mumtaz, the inspiration behind India’s celebrated monument of love, the Taj Mahal, had something to do with it! It is said Mumtaz once visited the Mughal army barracks and was appalled by the poor nutrition of the soldiers. She ordered the cook to prepare a wholesome meal that blended meat and rice. And thus the biryani was born...

The stories may be apocryphal, but there’s no doubt that the Mughals played their part in the popularity and dispersal of the biryani across their vast dominion.

Whether it was the nawabs of Oudh (Awadh) in Lucknow or the nizams of Hyderabad, the biryani blossomed into regional variations wherever it went. Take Moradabad, founded in 1625 and named after Murad Buksh, son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. As craftsmen and cooks migrated from Afghanistan and Arabia, the city gained a reputation for brassware and biryani. The Moradabadi Biryani is low on spices and there’s no better place to taste it than Alam Biriyaniwala on Galshaheed Road.

While the biryani’s journey from Persia via the Mughals is incredible, the way it was Indianised into different variants is equally amazing. Patronised by royalty, every region, community or geographic condition led to modifications or refinements. The Hyderabadi biryani developed under Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad. Arab nobleman Mir Qamar-ud-Din Siddiqi, appointed by Aurangzeb as the Deccan viceroy between 1713 and 1721, founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty after the death of the Mughal emperor.

Inspired by Persian society and their Turko-Mongol Mughal overlords, the Nizams patronised art, literature, culture and cuisine. It is said their khansamas (royal chefs) could prepare over 50 types of biryani using shrimp, quail, fish, deer, hare and saffron-infused rice. Another specialty was the delicate Doodh ki Biryani cooked with creamy milk, roasted nuts and aromatic spices.

Dum maaro dum
However, the quintessential Hyderabadi dum biryani is made with basmati rice, spices and goat meat in a style known as kachchi yakhni or kachche gosht ki biryani.

The marinated meat is cooked along with raw rice layered with fried onions, chilies, mint and sprinkled with kewra, rose water and saffron. The dish is sealed with dough and left on slow fire or dum for a fragrant and aromatic flavour. It is often accompanied by a boiled egg and raita. While Paradise may have opened multiple branches, locals swear by smaller establishments for the real taste of paradise — Hotel Shadaab near Charminar, Parvez Hotel at Nampally, Hotel Sohail in Malakpet and Cafe Bahar in Basheer Bagh.

One variant, the Kalyani biryani, dubbed the ‘poor man’s Hyderabadi biryani’, originated in Bidar in North Karnataka, during the reign of the Kalyani nawabs who migrated to Hyderabad after Nawab Ghazanfur Jang married into the Asaf Jahi family.

The Kalyani biryani was served by the Kalyani nawabs to guests from Bidar who visited their mansion in Hyderabad. Later, their cooks went independent and introduced the Kalyani biryani to the local populace. The Kalyani biryani is characterised by small cubes of buffalo meat flavoured with ginger, garlic, turmeric, red chili, cumin, coriander powder, lots of onion and tomato, made into a thick curry and cooked in dum style along with rice.

While the Hyderabadi biryani uses ground masalas, the Awadhi or Lucknow biryani is characterised by whole spices and yellow chili powder for a mild, flavourful dish. The rice is cooked separately in spices, and marinated chicken is added later. The ambience may not win any Michelin stars, but locals queue up at Lucknow’s legendary hole-in-the-wall eateries like Lalla Biryani at Chaupatiya Chowk, Wahid Biryani in Aminabad and Idris ki Biryani at Patanala near Kotwali Chowk Bazaar.

The Calcutta biryani, a Lucknowi variant, evolved when Awadh’s last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Kolkata in 1856. Settled in the suburb of Metiabruz, the nawab brought his personal chef with him. It is said the poorer households of Kolkata that could not afford meat, supplemented it with potatoes, which became a local specialty. The subtle biryani uses nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, cloves and cardamom in the yoghurt-based marinade for the meat which is cooked separately from the rice.

The rice is flavoured with ketaki water or rose water along with saffron for flavour, and a light yellow colour. The accompaniment is raita and kosha mangsho (mutton curry), best ordered from Arsalan and Nizam’s. In nearby Barrackpore, at Dada-Boudi Biryani, locals buzz around like bees to take away biryani by the boxfuls as large vessels simmer in the back alley.

As far as the original Mughlai biryani goes, one can still find the authentic taste in Delhi’s crammed alleys. Tempered with saffron and enriched with nuts, the mild biryani can be sampled at Al Jawahar near Jama Masjid or Nasir Iqbal in Nizamuddin.

The legendary Karim’s, ranked by Time Magazine among the best non-veg restaurants in Asia, was started in 1913 by Haji Karimuddin, who traces his origins to the Mughal court. After the last Mughal King Bahadur Shah Zafar was deposed and the British crushed the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, many royal cooks fled from Lal Qila and sought shelter in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. In 1911, when the Delhi Durbar was held, several khansamas returned to Delhi to cater to the crowds flocking for the coronation of King George V. Starting with a small dhaba serving rumali rotis with alu gosht and daal, Karimuddin established Karim Hotel in Jama Masjid’s Gali Kababian in 1913 with the lofty aim to ‘serve royal food to the common man’.

The biryani criss-crossed the country and imbibed spices and flavours from each region to create versions iconic to places or communities. Of the dozen-odd styles found in India, surprisingly, most variations are in the south, whether it’s the spicy Andhra biryani dished out at RRR Mess in Mysuru and Nagarjuna in Bengaluru, or the current rage donne biryani, served piping hot in a donne (arecanut palm leaf cup).

Share elbow space with diehard patrons at the Gundappa Shivaji Military Hotel in Bengaluru, or Hanumanthu’s in Mysuru. Biryani purists may scoff that these are technically pulaos and unless it’s layered, it ain’t biryani, but the proof of the pudding lies in eating it! Mysuru is also known for its Tahari Biryani made with vegetables, popularised during the reign of Tipu Sultan. Beans, carrots and potatoes are cooked along with rice to create a tasty veg dish that was attributed to the austere vegetarian book-keepers in Tipu’s administration.

High on popularity
Wherever there was a high Muslim population, the biryani gained tremendous popularity. Current favourite Ambur Biryani was first introduced by the nawabs of Arcot and spread by their royal cooks in Ambur and Vaniyambadi villages of Vellore district in north-eastern Tamil Nadu. The most famous among them was Hasin Baig, who opened a small eatery at his hometown on NH4 (Bengaluru-Chennai highway).

Today, Ambur’s Star Biryani has branches in Chennai and Bengaluru, offering seven types of biryani, including a Chicken 65 Biryani! Ambur regulars, however, swear by Hotel Rahmaniya. Authentic Ambur Biryani does not use garam masala or coriander powder as the red chili paste imparts spice and taste. It has a distinct aroma and the moderate use of spice and curd as a gravy base makes it easy to digest. It also has a higher ratio of meat to rice and is typically served with dalcha, a sour brinjal curry, or kathirikai pachadi (khatte baingan).

Another legend in the galaxy of stellar biryani makers is Dindigul’s Thalpakatti Biryani. What started off in 1957 as a humble betelnut shop and a four-seater Anandha Vilas Biriyani Hotel is today the first non-veg South Indian restaurant to open in Paris! Its founder, Nagasamy Naidu, sported a thalapa (traditional turban), hence the hotel’s popular name Thalappakatti. Tamil star Sivaji Ganesan often made a ritual stop for the Thalappakatti Biriyani while visiting his farmhouse at Soorakottai nearby. The Dindigul Biryani uses flavourful parakkum sittu or seeragasamba rice, top quality meat sourced from the cattle markets of Kannivadi and Paramathi, besides curd and lemon juice for the signature tang. Mutton bones are boiled and brinjal, potato and pulses are added to create an accompaniment called dalcha.

Many biryani varieties found on India’s eastern coast can be traced to traders from Arabia who sailed to port cities from Kutch to Karavali. The Spice Coast of Malabar, Kerala’s northern region stretching from Kasaragod to Kozhikode, has drawn Arab traders for centuries. Over time, they married local women and created a new Muslim community called the Mappilas (anglicised to Moplah). Thalassery, Malabar’s culinary capital, is known for its delectable biryani made from chicken, local spices, ghee and small-grained, fragrant kaima or jeerakasala rice. The chicken and rice are prepared separately and layered together for a final dum, sealing the lid with dough and placing red hot charcoals above the lid. Very little chili is used, leading to a subtle dish served with raita, date pickle and coconut-coriander chutney.

And it’s no secret, the best Thalassery biryani is in Paris. No, not Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Paris, but a tiny shack on Thalassery’s Logan Road called Paris. When cooks from Thalassery moved to Calicut, it led to a new coinage — Kozhikode or Malabar Biryani. Besides meat, local cooks also turned to the bountiful sea to make fish, crab or prawn biryani, sometimes with a variation of vermicelli. Ayisha Manzil, a heritage homestay at Thalassery, teaches the nuances of Moplah cuisine.

In Mangaluru, the South Canara trading community of Bearys (derived from Tulu ‘byara’, meaning trade) have their own distinct cuisine. Like Mangalorean food, they use coconut, curry leaves, ginger, chilli, spices like pepper and cardamom. Further up the Karavali coast, the Navayaths of Bhatkal are originally migrants from Arabia and Persia, who married into local Jain trading families to form a new community called Navayaths or the ‘newly arrived’. Like their language Navayathi, their cuisine too is an amalgam of Persian, Arabic, Marathi, Urdu and Konkani. The Navayathi biryani too has a vermicelli version and is served with baingan ka khatta (tangy brinjal curry) and sirke ka pyaz (onions in vinegar).

Ever heard of a biryani without rice? The Dawoodi Bohras are an Ismaili Shia sect residing in Mumbai, Gujarat and western India. Like their language — a dialect of Gujarati mixed with Arabic and Urdu — their biryani is also unique, made with patrel or colocasia leaves, and heavily flavoured with tomatoes. Firoz Farsan in Mumbai’s Bohri Mohalla dishes out a limited quantity of the Bohri patra biryani every Sunday.

The Sindhi Biryani has a pleasing bouquet of flavours using scented spices, roasted nuts, green chillies, sour yoghurt and tangy aloo bukhara (plums). The Memons of Gujarat-Sindh have a spicy Memoni biryani made with lamb, yoghurt, fried onions, potatoes and fewer tomatoes and less food colouring than the Sindhi version. The naturally rich colours of the meat, rice and vegetables are pleasing to the eye and palate. Even far-flung Assam has a Kampuri biryani, where chicken is cooked with peas, carrots, beans, potatoes and yellow bell peppers, spiced up with cardamom and nutmeg, and mixed with rice.

The recipe of a good biryani is often a closely guarded secret handed down generations, be it in homes, royal kitchens or restaurants. Hidden in layers of rice, spices and succulent meat are little stories of nameless and famous people who have contributed gems to India’s culinary treasures. Today, preparing biryani has a celebratory connotation, a complex culinary creation that requires, above all, other ingredients, love and patience. Else, the world would be happy with fried rice!