This Biryani is very close to my heart. This recipe was shared by Mr. Parveez, some 4 years ago and since then it has been a family favorite. My younger son calls it “Mogli Biryani”, since he feels that Mughlai is very close to”Mogli”, and I am sure somewhere he also believes that this recipe came in from the Jungle book…LOLzzz.
Mr. Parveez came across an article about Mughal migration and food and thats when he learnt that the initial use of spices in Biryani was actually white pepper and not the chilies. Though with time, chilies made a very special place in the Biryani recipes and no Biryani recipe seem to be complete without them, but that wasn’t the way it all started.
Black pepper has a very strong flavor and if you use it often, you would know that using black pepper even little more than required makes the taste of a dish bitter, therefore you need to be careful when handling that spice. Unlike, black pepper, white pepper is easier to handle and does not add bitterness if slightly over used.
This dish has flavors from the Middle east. it isn’t too spicy so it matched perfectly with Mirch ka saalan or Baghare Baingan or khatte Baingan. I have made this for my son’s school party for teachers and it was a big hit. You can use regular chicken cut to medium or small size pieces, though I preferred using chicken legs. It doesn’t change the taste but definitely enhances the look. I have used green chilies, but from the article that I read, it wasn’t a requirement so, the use is optional. Also the garnishing with boiled eggs is completely optional. You can also use cashews, and/or almonds to garnish if you feel like.
Lucknow food is food of the Nawabs and I love the Kebabs, curries and of course, the Biryani. Lucknowi Biryani uses a lot whole masalas and requires the chicken to be marinated in whole spices, powdered spices and Yogurt.
I have been to Lucknow once, with my parents in 2002. Though we didn’t stay for too long, but few days were enough for me to love the flavors and food from Lucknow. I wasn’t a complete cook back then and as much as I loved the food, I wasn’t so keen about doing a research to find out or look for recipes and try them out. Its much later, few years ago when I decided to get on the band wagon of cooking varieties of Biryani and started my journey of getting minute details about everything, is when I discovered the details about the Lucknowi Nawabi Cuisine.
This particular recipe happens to be one of the most old and original recipes from the Khansamas of the Nawabs. There were a few books in Urdu that described the times of Nawabi culture and traditions and how posh the era of Nawabs were and how beautifully and exclusively served food and how delectable the food used to be. The article gave an idea of how the Khansamas marinated the meat/ chicken and the ingredients they used and following the notes, I came up with the recipe as close to the original.
I have also tried making Lucknowi seekh and Galouti kebab and if you check the Kebab section, you will find the recipes for them. This Biryani doesn’t use tomatoes, but uses a lot of coriander leaves, mint leaves and green chilies.
This Biryani is one of my family’s favorite. This was my first dish from Lucknow and from there on, its been pretty regular in our house. This is a wonderful recipe. Like I say for most recipes, Please read the complete recipe properly before you try this out. Its a sure hit.
Biryani ranks at the top of my favorite food list. Whenever there is a special occasion in my house, the very first dish comes to my mind is Biryani. Honestly, Friday dinners are kind of a big deal in my house and Biryani is the main part of the dinner.
Biryani in Kolkata was introduced by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah from Lucknow. With Biryani every region and state added there own flavors, according to the produce they had in their region/ state. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned by Britishers and deported him to Kolkata. Luckily, he was accompanied by people who worked for him including his kitchen staff. Once in Kolkata, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah tried to make a little place provided for him to live. You could take a Nawab off the throne but you cannot take the elegance and Royal heart he has. he would ask his Kitchen staff to make Biryani, and would feel low about not having enough grocery specially meat/ chicken. To make th Nawab feel better and to be able to have him feel good about feeding everyone around him with the same love and respect he had in Lucknow, the chef added Potatoes and Eggs to the Biryani. This is how the famous Lucknow Biryani added its flavors and gave birth to Kolkata Biryani.
That’s why Biryanis from different places taste so different. The basic similarity is that every Biryani is cooked with meat and rice in dumm. It’s a dish adored not just all over the sub-continent, but all around the world. Its one of the most popular Indian/ Pakistani dish. However, Vegetable/ Paneer biryani is also well accepted among vegetarians.
Biryani should ideally be prepared in dumm, where the meat and rice are cooked together in an air tight container over low flame. I have posted the recipe of dum biryani and so many different varieties of Biryani from different regions and states of India. Most recipes also have some history/ story of how the recipes were originated, which is always a delight to read, know and share.
So this time I am sharing with you an easier version of dum biryani which is followed in most of the biryani houses in Kolkata. This Biryani is not too spicy. The Biryani has potatoes and the use of Khoya and milk makes the Biryani rich.
Mr. Parveez, my better half is from Bangalore and only after I got marrried, I realized how many varieties of Non vegetarian food Muslims cook. I understand most of you find my stories a little funny to understand and its kind of hard to relate to. Its tough
I hail from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where muslims probably make only 10% of the total population and most of them do not cook a lot of variety. While growing up, my mom was kind of the only woman I knew who made Biryani and we would see tons of people every Eid to have the special dish. Not just Biryani, but my mom’s Roast Chicken, Keeme ke samose, Tikka Boti and Kebabs were very exclusive and super delicious. I grew up believing that her food was a huge variety and at least it was not the same mutton curry, chicken curry and pulao, something standard at all our relatives.
Our visits to Delhi and Mumbai had us trying different cuisines at restaurants, but in my mind I always thought that it wasn’t something so commonly made at homes. When I got married, my outlook towards Muslim home food changed. This is when I realized that kebabs and curries could be made in so many different varieties and it was kind of important for every Muslim family to make a better variety than others for their gathering. It would amaze you if you were to go for parties to Muslim families, because its a competition to be better than the other.
This was my introduction to my Mughal Family and Mughlai cuisine. They say marriages are made in heaven and the Almighty know the right soul mate for you. In my case, he knew I need to be married in a family that loved food and wanted someone who shared the same passion as them, and I feel blessed.
So, Bangalore is where I discovered this Biryani. Its one of the Mughlai recipes that is pretty popular in Muslim families. But, as much as its popularity is all around Bangalore, not everyone can make it properly. This is my version of Kofta Biryani. I steam the the koftas before i cook them with the gravy and the water that is left behind after steaming koftas can be used to cook rice.
This Biryani is great, but won’t recommend it for beginners.
While I am always on a lookout for new Biryanis that have been made since the invention of this awesome dish, some recipes are just so fascinating that when you read about how they were cooked in olden days, its just hard to not try cooking them.
The land of Hyderabad offers so many varieties of Biryanis and this Biryani happens to be one of the delicious Biryanis that it offers. The Nawabs are always known to have food that is rich. Using cashews and poppy seeds not only adds a lot of flavor to a dish but also makes the yakhni very creamy and rich.
Biryani is inspired by cuisines from Persia. Recipes that have cashews and poppy seeds resemble the closest since the Mughlai recipes had loads of dry fruits and nuts added to their cuisine. Down south, Hyderabad serves the most Biryanis. This recipe is not like Hyderabadi dumm Biryani and not too spicy either but the taste is still lovely and the flavors are divine.
Lucknow food is inspired by Nawabs and only for the ones who have tasted the food know what a great taste the Nawabs had. Its the “Tehzeeb” or the culture and traditions of Lucknow that has us all enjoy the delicious cuisines even more. Kanpur has a lot of influence from the Lucknowi cuisine as well, specially for the Non vegetarian food.
The Nawabs of Lucknow were also ruling and settled in areas of Kanpur and therefore, after them the Khansamas also moved and settled in Kanpur. The good thing about moving to a new place is that you get to be more innovative with your recipe and the new ingredients helps you be more creative.
I believe food can be made with a lot of work, love, passion but, what makes the mark is the presentation of the dish, the words that describes the dish and most of all the person who cooks and serves. Nawabs have always been a people of nazakat and nawazish, and it flows in their cuisine.
This Biryani recipe is pretty simple and is great for beginners. The recipe is made in ghee which can be easily substituted with any oil you like. The recipe is rich, like most Nawabi cuisine.
Food and Purani Dilli go hand in hand. No person in this world can enter purani Dilli and come out hungry. The hustling Jama’a Masjid area or the area connecting to Chandni chowk or Sadar Bazaar offer food for all. whether you are a vegetarian or a non vegetarian, whether you are in mood for parantha or just a plate of kebab or plain simple juice/tea…You find them all.
Its a place where only the brave hearts can survive. I still remember my time in Purani Dilli as a kid and I used to hate being on the cycle riksha. It takes major skills to survive sitting on those small seats with bags and get through without falling each time the rikshawala applies break, which is just around 20 times a minute…LOLzzz. But, trust me, the food is worth more and you will find the trip an amazing experience.
If you do ever visit, do try the awesome non vegetarian restaurants opposite Jama’a Masjid and also ask the riksha wala to take you to paranthe wali gali. The lane has almost every parantha that exists and is a parantha heaven for every foodie.
Coming back to this Biryani. I believe the original recipe for this Biryani is definitely the Mughals trying the initial ways of cooking Biryani. My reasoning is comparing this dish to many rice and meat based dishes cooked in the Middle east, where in a similar manner the meat is 50% cooked and is tenderized using raw papaya or Vinegar and then the rice, which is only 20% cooked, is layered on top of the half cooked meat and the steam generated from cooking the meat cooks the rice. The recipe is pretty hassle free and simple.
If you still are confused with any step or would like to learn how to cook this dish, feel free to contact me.
Hyderabad is very popular for its Non vegetarian food, mainly Biryani. Hyderabad is the first place that comes to our mind when we think of good Biryani. When I started researching more about Biryanis, I found out the numerous Biryanis that Hyderabad offers, which are not just Non vegetarian but also vegetarian.
I have tried a variety of Hyderabadi Biryanis and each one is delicious and completely different from each other. The recipes also has “Baghare Baingan”, an eggplant dish cooked with peanuts and tamarind and “Khatte Baingan”, another recipe of eggplant, where eggplant is cooked with tomatoes and tamarind. Biryanis are served with different sides including Raita and Dalcha too.
Different Biryanis and different flavors, so much to try and everything so deliciously fantastic that picking one to be my absolute favorite is impossible.
While growing up, I had a distant family and once a year, every Eid to be precise, they would have a gathering at their place. The lady was from Delhi and a fantastic cook. The best thing was that she always made a dish, that was uncommon in our families. It was always some new variety that belonged to Delhi and other states. For many of you, who aren’t aware, the non vegetarian dishes cooked in one state of India differ completely from the ones cooked in another state, even if we are neighboring state. So, I was 12 and that was the first time I tried Achaari chicken curry.
Now, I am a big fan of Achaar/ pickle. When we got married, I would drive Mr. Parveez crazy with the amount of pickle I consumed. So, to a person like me, eating chicken in Achaar flavor was indeed food from heaven. I really laugh at myself when I remember how I got after my mother to find the recipe and make the dish, which she did and it was always one of favorites. But, the story doesn’t end here.
Now when I am all set to try out new recipes, one fine day I decided to make Biryani out of this masala. As much as the idea sounds absurd and crazy, the Biryani came out delicious. The yakhni has strong flavor of fennel seeds and fenugreek. Its isn’t sour as what usually pickles are, so don’t fear trying out this recipe imagining the taste of boiled rice and pickle, coz it isn’t the same taste. The spice level is medium and i have had loads of people who pick this one to be one of the first dishes they learnt how to cook from me.
Its one of my best food experiments ever. Please feel free to ask if you’d like to make it with mutton/fish.
Dawoodi Bohras are a Shia Muslim community. Most people from this community are settled India and Pakistan. As much as the people are loving, they are very generous hosts and love serving their guests to the best of their ability. We happen to have few friends from the community and we love their food.
My Mom had a best friend who passed away a few years ago and also happened to be a Bohri Muslim. She was a super fabulous cook and made amazing food and some of her recipes were just hard to make since, it missed out the flavors of her hand. I still remember tasting my first home baked bread at her house and the way she smothered the butter on the bread slice and I loved each bite of that slice. May her soul rest in peace.
So, with all the fabulous people around me, surprisingly no one cooked Biryani. Now, as a Biryani lover I had so much about how their families cooked Biryani in those Big “deg” [a big vessel made of copper or iron] but, they just couldn’t get down to following the hard recipe to make the same Biryani.
I have never met another crazy woman like me, who goes around collecting recipes from different places and communities. I bet sometimes people find that super annoying and honestly, after so much research I have lost the count to how many trials of different Biryanis I have done. Some got wasted since they weren’t so good. But, the collection I offer are from the best ones I made and they came out to be super delicious and fabulous.
Coming back to the Bohri Biryani. After a lot of research from different people, I made this Biryani which is as good as it can be from a Bohri family. Bohri Biryani uses Nutmeg and Mace. So, if its your preference to not use it, then its your personal choice but otherwise Bohri Muslims are allowed to consume both the spices. Do try it and if you miss out on anything or find anything confusing, feel free to ask.
