Eid-ul-Adha is coming up later this month, and this is
the Islamic festival that celebrates the spirit of sacrifice. As with any Eid,
the feast for this one will also be one worth looking forward to!! In most
parts of India, an Eid feast is incomplete without a biryani, a mouth watering
rice, spices and chicken or meat. You can almost smell it now, can’t you?
Now biryani is a very generic term, and there are many
kinds of biryani within India. While it’s not really possible to list all of
them here, let’s take a look at the most popular biryanis that you’re likely to
find in most places in India.
1. Lucknowi Biryani
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Lucknowi Biryani is the kind of biryani that is popular
in the northern part of India, and is believed to be a direct descendant of the
original Persian biryani introduced by the Mughals. This is a pakki biryani
where the rice and meat are half-cooked separately, then layered together and
cooked completely using the dum method.
2. Sindhi Biryani
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This is a biryani that originated from the Sind
province in Pakistan and is extremely popular in India as well! This biryani is
characterized by its generous use of fresh herbs like mint and coriander,
giving the biryani a beautiful aroma.
3. Calcutta Biryani
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The story goes that when the last Nawab of Awadh was
exiled to Calcutta, he took his chef along with him, who cooked some delicious
biryani. Soon the biryani became famous, and poor households managed by
substituting meat with potatoes. Today, potatoes with meat have become the
trademark of the Calcutta biryani!
4. Bombay Biryani
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As its name suggests, Bombay biryani originated in Mumbai,
and it has some Iranian flavours, which some believe are due to the large Parsi
community in Mumbai. This biryani uses some flavours not generally found in
Indian biryanis, like kewra essence, an assortment of spices and deep fried
potatoes.
5. Hyderabadi Biryani
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Eating biryani is probably the first thing visitors to
Hyderabad do, it’s that famous! Hyderabadi biryani was developed during the
Mughal period, but this one differs from traditional Mughal biryanis in the use
of spices. An authentic Hyderabadi biryani packs a good amount of heat and
fills the senses!
6. Dindigul Thalapakatti Biryani
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The Didndigul Thalapakatti Biryani originated in the
Dindigul town of Tamil Nadu. This biryani uses a good mix of spices, resulting
in a darker color. It also avoids tomatoes completely, relying on sour curd and
lemon juice for that tang. This biryani also uses a shorter grain rice rather
than Basmati.
7. Bhatkal Biryani
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Bhatkal Biryani is a dish of coastal Karnataka that
derived from the Bombay biryani but then went on to evolve into something
different. The main characteristic feature of this biryani is the use of onions,
which is more than in other biryanis. The meat is cooked in an onion based
sauce, which lends a different, strong taste to the finished dish.
8. Ambur Biryani
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This biryani is from Vellore in Tamil Nadu and is a
meat heavy dish. However, the thing that differentiates this biryani from the
rest is the brinjal based gravy that is served alongside the biryani. Other
accompaniments include a curd dish called a pachadi.
9. Thalassery Biryani
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Thalassery Biryani is also called Malabar biryani,
being a well known dish from the Malabar region in Kerala. Some experts believe
that while the Persian biryani was introduced in the North, Arab traders
introduced their version of the biryani in the South, which has evolved into
the Malabar Biryani. This biryani is lighter on the spices and makes use of a
short grain rice called Kaima rice. Cashews and raisins are used generously as
a garnish.
We’re pretty sure you’re drooling all over your
computer right now, so we’ll stop here!! So this Eid, go ahead and indulge
yourself; for a change, you can also try multiple biryanis this year!
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