Indians love their Biriyani. There are just so many varies of Biriyani in the country and each one so different in taste and aroma! It is a sin if you did not taste these 5 variants of Biriyani listed below! We got you covered with the recipes too! Go ahead and enjoy your choice of Biriyani!
HYDERABADI DUM BIRIYANI (Andhra Pradesh)
The delicious Hyderabadi Biryani is made with basmati rice and lamb meat or chicken and served with yogurt and raita.
Ingredients
Onions -700 gm
Mutton – 1 kg
Tomatoes – 600 gm
Garlic paste – 50 gm
Ginger paste – 70 gm
Green chillies – 7-8 nos
Coriander & mint leaves large – handful
Curd – 1 cup
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 2 tbsp
Lime – 1
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tbsp
Whole gram – 3 cardamom, 10 cloves & 2 inch cinnamon sticks
How To Make
- Pan 150 gms oil, add whole garam masala and allow it to splutter for a minute or two. Add 600 gm of onions and fry till golden approximately for 10 mins. Keep on sim to avoiding burning of onions.
- Add 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste and fry well. Add 500 gms mutton and saute for 5-7 mins. Add 1 tbsp turmeric powder, 3 tbsp red chilli, salt to taste and 250 grams of chopped tomatoes and handful of herbs (mix of coriander and mint), 7 green chillies. Saute all for 4-5 mins. Pressure cook till done about 1 whistle and 5 mins on sim.
- By this time meat is almost done. Now add 1 cup curd, juice of 1 lime and check salt and seasoning, adjust accordingly. (Might require salt or chilli accordingly as per preference).
- Par boil 500 gms rice with salt till almost done. Strain and layer over gravy. Top with few leaves of coriander and drizzle color (kesari) or saffron diluted in milk and give dum for 5-10 mins.
MALABAR BIRIYANI (Kerala)
The Kerala style can be made with chicken, egg, mutton and fish. Malabar Biriyani is famous in the coastal Malabar region.
Ingredients
2 cups Basmati rice
½ kg chicken (medium sized pieces)
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tbsp pepper powder
4 to 5 onions (finely sliced)
¼ cup of ginger garlic paste
1 stalk curry leaves
3 tomatoes (sliced)
1 ½ tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
¼ cup curd
3 cardamoms
3 cloves
1 small piece of cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup each of cashews and raisins
¼ cup onions (finely sliced)
3 tbsp oil
50 grams ghee
How To Make
- Wash and soak the rice in water for 15 minutes.
- Marinate chicken pieces with turmeric powder, coriander powder and pepper powder and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté till they turn golden brown in color. Add ginger garlic paste and curry leaves and sauté again for a couple of minutes. Add tomato, garam masala and salt and sauté again for 3-4 minutes. Next add the marinated chicken pieces and curd and cook this masala on medium flame till chicken is done.
- Drain the rice. In another thick bottomed pan, pour ghee and keep the burner on medium. Sauté cashews, raisins, and ¼ cup of onions till golden brown and keep aside. Now add cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and sauté for a minute. Add the rice and fry until it starts cracking. Add salt, lemon juice and 1 ½ cups of water. Cook till the rice is done. There should not be any trace of water.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Apply some ghee to a baking dish. Put a layer of rice in the dish. On top of this, spread some chicken masala. Repeat this process by alternating between rice and chicken masala until both are over. Take care to have rice as the top layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Garnish the baked biriyani with fried cashew, raisins and onions. Serve hot with pickle and raita.
KOLKATA BIRIYANI (West Bengal)
Kolkata biryani is evolved from the Awadhi style biryani and has rich taste and flavor. The unique style of making Calcuttabiryani with much lighter spices and distinct flavor and yellowish color makes it different as compared to other styles of biryani.
Ingredients
For chicken
- Chicken 1 kg with bone cut into 8 pieces
- Medium sized onions- 3 (thinly sliced)
- Green chilies 4-5
- Meetha Attar
- Mustard oil- 1/4 cup
- Salt
For marination
- Kashmiri mirch powder- 1 tsp
- Cumin powder- 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
- Yogurt- 100g (well beaten)
- Ginger-garlic paste 2 tbsp (hipped)
- Rose water- few drops
- Keora water- few drops
For tempering
- Dry red chilies- 2
- Green cardamom- 3 (roughly crushed)
- Whole black peppercorns- 8-9 (roughly crushed)
- Cinnamon stick- 1″ single piece
- Cloves- 2-3
- Bay leaf- 2
How To Make
- Marinate the freshly washed chicken pieces with all the ingredients mentioned ‘for marination’. Keep aside for 3-4 hours.
- Heat oil in a kadai/deep frying pan, temper with the all the ingredients mentioned ‘ for tempering’.
- Add sliced onions, fry on medium flame until light brown in color.
- Now add the marinated chicken with green chilies. Mix well, cover and cook on low flame. Stir in between.
- The chicken will cook without water. Add salt when the chicken is half cooked. Mix well and cook until done, add few drops of meetha attar at the end, remove from heat.
Ingredients for rice
- Basmati or any long grain rice- 750g (wash well and keep aside)
- Green cardamom- 3 (roughly crushed)
- Bay leaf- 2
- Star anise- 2
- Mace- 2 (grounded)
- Nutmeg powder- 1/2 tsp
- Ghee/Clarified butter – 1/2 cup
- Saffron- 1 fat pinch soaked in 1/2 cup of warm milk
- Rose water
- Keora water
- Meetha Attar
- Salt
- Garam masala powder- ¼ tsp
How To Make
- Boil enough water in a deep bottom pan.
- Add the washed rice along with star anise, bay leaves and green cardamoms. Add salt.
- Keep cooking uncovered till 80% done. Drain through a colander.
For layering and sealing
- Potato- 4 medium sized (peel and cut into halves)
- Boiled egg- 4 (cut into halves lengthwise)
- Slit green chilies- 5-6 (optional)
- Whole black peppercorns- ½ tsp (roughly crushed)
- Wheat dough/ Atta dough- Make dough with wheat flour and water just the way we do for Chapati.
How To Make
- Boil the freshly washed potato pieces, drain and keep aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a kadai/deep frying pan, fry the potatoes on medium flame until golden. Remove and keep aside.
- Grease a deep bottomed pan with ghee. Add rice in the first layer.
- Now add a layer of Chicken pieces along with the gravy. Add gravy carefully, in small quantity at a time. Otherwise the biryani will look like ‘Chicken and rice curry’.
- Place few pieces of potatoes in between.
- Sprinkle some ghee, along with few drops of rose water, keora water, mace and nutmeg powder, 1-2 green chilies, a pinch of crushed black peppercorn and saffron milk.
- Repeat this process of layering rice and chicken one more time. Close the layering with a final layer of rice.
- Place the boiled eggs on top, yolk side down, push them gently in the bed of rice little bit.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of ghee on top. Garnish with fried onions, few drops of meetha attar and garam masala powder.
- Close with a tight fitting lid, seal the edge with atta dough (make a log with the dough, then seal).
- Turn on the heat. Put a tawa. Now put the biryani vessel on it. Keep the flame as lowest as possible. Put on dum for 45 minutes.
LUCKNOWI MUGHLAI BIRIYANI (Uttar Pradesh)
The Lucknowi Biryani also known as the Mughlai biriyani is popular in Lucknow and Delhi, originated from the Moghul Cuisine.
Ingredients
Chicken - 300 gms
Basmati rice - 1 ½ cup
Yoghurt - ¼ cup
Garam masala pwd - 1 tsp
Biryani masala - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cumin - ½ tsp
Cloves - 2
Black pepper - ½ tsp
Bay leaf - 2
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1
Onion - 2
Green chilly - 1 or 2
Tomato - 1
Red chilly pwd - ½ tsp
Coriander pwd - ¾ tsp
Mint & coriander leaves - 1 cup
Food color (optional) - a pinch
Salt to taste
How To Make
- Marinate with yogurt, garam masala powder, biryani masala, ginger garlic paste and salt for 1 hour.
- Wash and soak biryani rice in water for 10 mins.
- Heat oil, ghee in a pan. Add cumin, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, cardamoms and a stick of cinnamon.
- Add finely chopped onions, mint leaves, chilly and cook on low medium heat, until it turns golden brown.
- Now add tomatoes, marinated chicken, red chilly powder, coriander powder and mix everything together.
- Fry in low flame for 5 to 7 minutes by stirring frequently.
- Add finely chopped coriander leaves and sauté for a minute.
- Now add 2 ½ cup of water. Add soaked rice and stir well.
- Pressure cook for one whistle and simmer for 5 to 6 mins or until the rice is done.
KASHMIRI BIRIYANI (Jammu and Kashmir)
Also known as the Yakhni biriyani, this traditional Biriyani is made traditionally with mutton and is relished in all parts of the country.
Ingredients
Mutton 1 inch pieces- 1/2 kilogram
Rice- 1 1/2 cups
Salt to taste
Fennel seed (saunf) powder- 1 tablespoon
Dry ginger powder- 1/2 tablespoon
Cloves- 3-4
Black peppercorns- 2-3
Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
Bay leaf - 1
Green cardamom powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Ghee -4 tablespoons
Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) -1 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida -a pinch
Green chillies stemmed -3
Mutton stock -3 cups
Yogurt -1 cup
How To Make
- Soak rice in three cups of water for half an hour. Drain and set aside.
- Mix mutton with salt, fennel powder, dry ginger powder, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and green cardamom powder.
- Leave to marinate for about half an hour.
- Heat ghee in a pan. Add caraway seeds and asafoetida, sauté for a few seconds.
- Add the marinated mutton and sauté for two to three minutes. Add salt and whole green chillies. Add mutton stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In another vessel whisk yogurt till smooth and add it to the mutton little by little stirring all the time so that the gravy is uniform.
- Add drained rice and mix well.
- Cook on high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and cook till both mutton and rice are done. Serve hot.