32 Flavorsome Biryani Facts That Will Make You Crave This Dish

All across India, biryani is one of the most well-liked dishes and different Indian states have given birth to a different version of the dish.

Biryani is often the topic of discussion at various events owing to its interesting origin stories and how the dish went on to become one of the most popular dishes in India. Biryani is a dish that uses rice and meat or vegetables as its primary ingredients along with several other spices.

Biryani is believed to have been originated in Persia and then brought to the Indian subcontinent by Iranian merchants and travelers although there are several other origin stories too.

Biryani has been in India for centuries now which has now led to the development of several types of biryani such as the Hyderabadi biryani, Kashmiri biryani, Calcutta biryani, Lucknawi biryani, and many more on the basis of the location of the state.

At the same time, there were various versions of the dish based on its ingredients; they are divided into chicken biryani, mutton biryani, vegetable biryani if meat is replaced by vegetables while cooking the flavored rice.

You will find multiple kinds of biryani recipes as you move from one place to another in the Indian subcontinent.

Different Biryani Recipes

There are various methods of cooking biryani involving both vegetarian and non-vegetarian ingredients. It is believed that in the earlier days, the basmati rice, which is the primary ingredient of biryani, was cooked in a method known as 'dum pukht' which can be translated into 'slow cooked'.

Let us take a look at some of the famous biryani recipes all across the world.

• Biryani is an authentic Mughal dish and its current-day closest relatives include Hyderabadi biryani and Awadhi biryani.
• Hyderabadi kacchi biryani is a famous biryani type yet one of the simplest. One needs to marinate the chicken with herbs, spices, and curd.
• Once the rice is cooked to perfection, you can enjoy delicious aromatic rice along with soft chicken pieces.
• Hyderabadi pakki biryani is another famous biryani recipe where initially the chicken pieces are cooked along with the marinade. Once done, these pieces are layered with parboiled basmati rice. Eventually, for a short duration, the dum is cooked.
• Sindhi biryani is another pretty famous biryani type that is especially well known for its spicy taste.
• Sindhi biryani is a staple food in many parts of Pakistan and is prepared as a mixture of vegetables, basmati rice, spices, and meat of one's choice.
• Memoni biryani is largely inspired by Sindhi biryani owing to its spicy nature. This biryani type employs curd, fried onions, potatoes, mutton but does not use as much food color as other biryanis do.
• One of the most interesting facts about biryani is that not all biryani types use basmati rice. Thalassery biryani which is native to the Indian state of Kerala uses khyma rice along with chicken and other spices which is unsurprisingly also its specialty.
• Talking about Indian biryanis, one certainly cannot miss out on Kolkata biryani as it is one of the most delicious varieties of this rich dish.
• Kolkata biryani is believed to be inspired by Lucknow biryani. This biryani type is uniquely known for using potato as a compulsory ingredient and employing a lesser amount of spices than other biryani types.

Nutritional Value Of Biryani

We love eating biryani whether it is the famous dum biryani or the special Bombay biryani. Every biryani type has a specific nutritional value but a lot of it depends upon whether there is meat or vegetables along with the rice that you are consuming.

Moreover, the type of meat also plays a pivotal role, whether the biryani has goat meat or chicken in it.

• Biryani is loaded with carbohydrates along with several other nutrients too as it is cooked in oil along with meat.
• Did you know, on average 7.05 oz (200 g) of chicken biryani contains 290 calories?
• It is a fact that chicken biryani is better than mutton biryani or any other biryani type which contains red meat as the latter has a variety of cons that often outweigh the pros.
• Biryani which contains vegetables along with meat such as chicken is believed to be the best in terms of nutrients as the veggies provide the required minerals.
• Did you know, 7.05 oz (200 g) of chicken biryani has merely 0.33 oz (9.4 g) of fats in it along with 0.00169 oz (48 mg) of cholesterol?
• At the same time, a 7.05 oz (200 g) serving of chicken biryani contains 0.705 oz (20 g) of protein reflecting the healthy side of biryani.

Is biryani good for your health?

Many people believe biryani to be really bad for your health owing to the fact that it is cooked oil and contains meat but to your surprise, biryani has various health benefits. Let us take a look at some of these health benefits and there are high chances you aren't aware of some of them.

• Whether it is chicken biryani or a vegetable biryani or mutton biryani, each one of them is equally adept at detoxifying your body.
• Every biryani type whether it is the Malabar biryani or the Dindigul biryani, contains a variety of spices that act as antioxidants and each one of them is pretty healthy for the human body.
• Cumin, an integral ingredient of biryani is believed to be pretty good at cleaning the inner system and also decreasing inflammation.
• The presence of ginger in biryani is great for relieving muscle pain and reducing sickness in one's body.
• The cumin in biryani is credited for helping the digestion process as it reduces gas, increases the pace of digestive enzymes.
• Apart from being a good source of protein, the chicken in chicken biryani contains healthy amounts of vitamin B3.
• The niacin present in the chicken is known to be helpful at dealing with insomnia, depression, several other mental illnesses.
• Additionally, chicken biryani is a treasure of selenium and vitamin B6 which assist in maintaining the immune system and dealing with heart diseases.

Fun Facts About Biryani

Ranging from the history of the dish to its popularity in the current day, biryani is undoubtedly one of the most interesting dishes of the present day. Unsurprisingly, there is a long list of facts about this finger-licking dish that you might perhaps be unaware of. Let us take a look at some of them.

• We know that biryani is originally a Persian dish but did you know, the term 'biryani' has been derived from the Persian word 'birian' which refers to 'fried before cooking'?
• Most historians believe that biryani was introduced in India in the late 14th century when Timur and Turk Mongol arrived in India.
• Did you know that there is a dish in Tamil literature that goes by the name of 'oon soru' and is coincidentally pretty similar to the biryani that we eat today?
• Many people believe that biryani was first introduced in the southern part of India due to which biryani of this area offers much more taste, texture, and aroma.
• Did you know, the traditional method of cooking biryani requires the food inside the clay pot to be sealed and then cooked on slow fire?
• Did you know, during the initial days, only mutton was used in cooking biryani, and with the advent of time, chicken and vegetables were introduced?
• Some biryani types also include corn depending upon the season and its availability.
• Many premium biryani makers, use saffron in their dish to give the biryani a beautiful look and flavor.