Hyderabadi, Lucknowi, Calcutta, Kacchi, Moradabadi and Bhatkali! Indians and their romance with biryani have been legendary. It exists in different forms with different names in all the four corners of the country.
From the common man to the bureaucrats, having biryani is like treating oneself and most of the times biryani calls for celebrating an occasion. So whats the legend behind this famous dish?
Some say biryani originated in Persia. The word biryani is derived from 'Birian', which means 'Fried before cooking' in Farsi. Traditionally it was cooked with rice and the leg of a goat. After originating in Persia it was brought to India by the Persians during the Mughal rule or by the Arabic traders in Calicut.
Another legend says that it was the food of the nomads of West Asia who would dig a pit in the ground and put a container full of rice, meat and spices in it and cover it. To their astonishment appetizing flavour would seep from the ground by evening as the biryani got cooked.
While few believe that biryani came to India with Timor the Lame's invasion. The last legend says that Mumtaz Mahal (wife of Shah Jahan) concocted this dish in her dreams and then cooked it to feed the emperor's army.
But all these legends come to one conclusion that Biryani evolved due to the Mughals. It came to the southern part of India after Aurangzeb's invasion of the south and giving birth to the famous Hyderabadi biryani. Soon it spread to the Nawab and Nizams of the Carnatic region and Mysore. The Nizam's kitchen boasted of 49 kinds of biryani. They also hired vegetarian Hindus as book-keepers thus giving rise to the Tahiri Biriyani.
Lucknow also known Awadh has been a place of Mughal patronage and the awadhi biryani's aroma salivates anyone's taste buds. In 1856, Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was exiled to the Kolkata suburb of Metiaburj. He brought his personal chef along with him as he was particular about his food. That is how Kolkata or Calcutta got introduced to biryani. Due to recession potatoes were used by the chef instead of meat. Hence it gave birth to the famous Calcutta biryani which has both potatoes and meat in it.
Happy eating folks!
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From the common man to the bureaucrats, having biryani is like treating oneself and most of the times biryani calls for celebrating an occasion. So whats the legend behind this famous dish?
modern day Biryan
Some say biryani originated in Persia. The word biryani is derived from 'Birian', which means 'Fried before cooking' in Farsi. Traditionally it was cooked with rice and the leg of a goat. After originating in Persia it was brought to India by the Persians during the Mughal rule or by the Arabic traders in Calicut.
Another legend says that it was the food of the nomads of West Asia who would dig a pit in the ground and put a container full of rice, meat and spices in it and cover it. To their astonishment appetizing flavour would seep from the ground by evening as the biryani got cooked.
While few believe that biryani came to India with Timor the Lame's invasion. The last legend says that Mumtaz Mahal (wife of Shah Jahan) concocted this dish in her dreams and then cooked it to feed the emperor's army.
Hyderabad famous for its biryanis
But all these legends come to one conclusion that Biryani evolved due to the Mughals. It came to the southern part of India after Aurangzeb's invasion of the south and giving birth to the famous Hyderabadi biryani. Soon it spread to the Nawab and Nizams of the Carnatic region and Mysore. The Nizam's kitchen boasted of 49 kinds of biryani. They also hired vegetarian Hindus as book-keepers thus giving rise to the Tahiri Biriyani.
Awadhi biryani
Lucknow also known Awadh has been a place of Mughal patronage and the awadhi biryani's aroma salivates anyone's taste buds. In 1856, Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was exiled to the Kolkata suburb of Metiaburj. He brought his personal chef along with him as he was particular about his food. That is how Kolkata or Calcutta got introduced to biryani. Due to recession potatoes were used by the chef instead of meat. Hence it gave birth to the famous Calcutta biryani which has both potatoes and meat in it.
Metaibruz, the birthplace of Calcutta biryani
Happy eating folks!
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Liked the concept and the presentation!
ReplyDeletethank you. go and grab a biryani! :)
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