Origin Of Biriyani | From Persia to India

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Biriyani , the close to heart food for every indians never need an introduction. The name is enough! India is famous for a large variety of in house dishes, but still most of our favourite is the mouth watering biriyani. It is believed that , biriyani is originated in Persia and introduced to India by the Mughals.

The aromatic meal which is made by long grained rice , a lot of spices and meat was popularized by the Mughals when they invaded India in 16th century. The word Biriyani is derived from the Persian word Birian, which means 'fried before cooking' and Birinj which means the Persian rice. There are many stories behind the origin of this yummy dish. Many people believe that  Timur, Turk Mongol Conqueror, brought the idea of biriyani when he arrived at India in 1398. It is said that, Timurs's army war diet was an earthern pot full of rice, spices and whatever meats available. Yes! May be that brings the idea of today's biriyani.

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There are lot more stories, like the Arabs bring biriyani to the malabar coast of India and so on. But the famous story is related to Mumtaz Mahal , Shajahan's queen who inspired the Taj Mahal. The story is , Once Mumtaz visited the army barracks and found the Mughal soldiers tired, She asked the chef to prepare a special dish that combine meat and rice to provide balanced nutrition to the soldiers. Hence the origin of biriyani!

There are varieties of biriyani available all over India. Hyderabadi Biriyani and Lucknow Biriyani are two of them. The Nawabs of Lucknow and Nizams of Hyderabad are responsible for popularizing their versions of biriyani. The biriyani list contninues from Thalassery biriyani, Mughlai biriyani, Calcutta biriyani, Thalappakatti biriyani ,Dindigul biriyani, Arcot biriyani and so on.

I believe the right amount of ingredients , the quality of rice and meat , and the traditional practice of preparation makes a perfect biriyani. Even from the south to north of Kerala, there are different types of biriyani which differs in amount of spice, type of rice , etc . I am attaching a simple malabari biriyani making video here .