Biryani: Tantalizing and Lip-smacking Varieties
Biryani: Tantalizing and Lip-smacking Varieties
Sundays in the Southern households of the Indian Subcontinent are synonymous to the spicy and scrumptious biryanis. Biryani is one of the most popular, and an evergreen classic, rice cuisine in India that is both rich in flavor and in history. The streets of South India have many small food trucks always ready to serve you with a hot plate of delicious biryani. The recipe of this mouth- watering cuisine travelled all the way from the Middle East to North India during the Mughal rule. Soon, it got adopted across the country with cultural additions and has become one of the most common household cuisines for celebratory occasions.
Culture, regions, family tradition all contributes to the variations that make this dish delicious. Dum, pressure cooker or open pan are a few of the methods of cooking this yummy dish. The sequence of adding ingredients along with timing creates the magic. Variety of rice further adds to the variations.
A peek into a few varieties of biryani:
Hyderabad Biryani
The tempting and flavorful Hyderabad biryani gets its tsunami of fragrance from the dum style cooking with herbs, spices, and condiments. Its sapid, zesty smell tantalizes taste buds with mouthwatering experience. Its crisp, tender meat highlights the elegance of courts of Hyderabad of yesteryear.
Dindigul Biryani
Dindigul Biryani, also known as Thalapakatti Biryani, stands out for its egg-shaped short-grained seeraga samba rice cooked in a very slow manner to absorb the aroma of the spices, and the meat especially. The mild spices along with usage of curd and green chillies provide tangy and burning taste. A plate of Dindigul’s famous biryani will leave an aftertaste in your mouth for hours together.
Chettinad Biryani
Chettinad Biryani is one of the spiciest biryani recipes there is. It is made with the same Seeraga Samba rice as Dindigul’s biryani with the addition of ground green chillies and black peppercorns. The biryani masala has a few more spices such as star anise, kalpasi (stone flower), Marathi moggu (dried flower pods). This biryani masala, when combined with coconut milk, adds an interesting touch to this rice dish.
Ambur Biryani
The recipe traces its lineage to the Nawab of Arcot. Ambur’s Biryani is traditionally made with mutton marinated with mint-infused yogurt sauce, making it an healthier and milder alternative to its Chettinad cousin.
Kalyani Biryani
Rich in taste, richer in history, Hyderabad’s Kalyani Biryani is a 300 year old recipe passed down from the Kalyani Nawabs of Bidar. The biryani is made with small cubes of beef, spices, onions and lots of tomatoes, leaving it with a distinct flavor of tomatoes, cumin and coriander. Kalyani Biryani is one of the simplest biryanis in the country, commonly found in and around the streets of Hyderabad.
Celebratory or otherwise, the kitchen of Amma’s South Indian Restaurant is always ready to serve you with a plate of piping hot biryani. Visit us, and have an enchanting biryani experience.
