ORIGIN OF BRIYANI IN INDIA AND ITS CONQUEST

ORGIN OF BIRYANI:

200 biryani packets are ordered every minute and 10 crore biryani packets are ordered in a year. Though Biryani appears to be a local food of India, the dish originated quite far away from Indian subcontinent. Biryani is derived from the Persian word “Birian”, which means ‘fried before cooking’ and “Birinj”, the Persian word for rice. While there are multiple theories about the birthplace of biryani, it is generally accepted that it originated in West Asia.

HOW DID BIRYANI ENTERED INDIA?

One legend has it that the Turk-Mongol conqueror, Timur, brought the precursor of the biryani with him when he arrived at the frontiers of India in 1398. Believed to be the war campaign diet of Timur’s army, an earthen pot full of rice, spices and whatever meats were available would be buried in a hot pit, before being eventually dug up and served to the warriors.

Another legend has it that the dish was brought to the southern Malabar coast of India by Arab traders who were frequent visitors there. There are records of a rice dish known as Oon Soru in Tamil literature as early as the year 2 A.D. Oon Soru was said to be made of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf, and was used to feed military warriors.

However, the most popular story traces the origins of the dish to Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s beautiful queen who inspired the Taj Mahal 

Alongside the Mughal invasions, the popular dish Biryani stepped inside India

It is said that Mumtaz once visited the army barracks and found the Mughal soldiers looking weak and undernourished. She asked the chef to prepare a special dish that combined meat and rice to provide balanced nutrition to the soldiers – and the result was biryani of course! At the time, rice was fried in ghee, without washing, to give it a nutty flavour and prevent it from clumping. Meat, aromatic spices, and saffron were added to it before cooking the mix over a wood fire. 

From then till now biryani is our favorite over any other western foods. Approximately there are 15 types of biryanis are prepared and consumed by Indians all over the country. 15 types are listed below

1. Mughlai Biriyani

2. Hyderabadi Biriyani

3. Calcutta Biryani

4. Dindigul biryani

5. Lucknowi biryani (formerly Awadh) biryani uses the most original recipe. It is cooked using the ‘dum pukht’ method and it is regularly known as Dum Biryani.

6. Arcot Biryani

7. Memoni Biryani

8. Thalassery biryani

9. Kampuri Biryani

10. Tahari biryani

11. Beary Biryani 

12. Sindhi Biryani

13. Bhatkali Biryani

14. Bombay Biryani

15. Doodh Ki Biryani,

So, it is quite clear that Mumtaz not just gave Taj mahal (one of the seven wonders), she also gave us the 8th wonder, the “Biryani”. And a lot of foodies think that it is much better than Taj mahal lol...

EID MUBARAK