This Biryani is a signature dish from Belgaum, cooked with baby potatoes and flavored with saffron and cream. Belgaum is a place in Karnataka and I have a sister in law who belongs to that region, but this isn’t a recipe from her though. In fact, in my family no one makes chicken Biryani combined with any vegetables.. Yupp!!! you got that correct, They are hardcore non vegetarians specially when it comes to Biryanis. Bengaluru does have the tradition of cooking meat or chicken Biryanis with carrots and peas but it still isn’t something that is seen very often or is enjoyed much either.
Coming back to Belgaum Biryani, its great for people who prefer their Biryani a little creamier with the spice and also if you like the flavors by Coriander leaves, mint leaves and green chilies but don’t like the texture between your bites. Blending them adds the flavor without you having to be cautious between your bites to not bite on that chili… The potatoes add their own crisp flavor and its beautiful in its own way.
I can give out more options to cook this Biryani completely vegetarian or with meat or fish. Contact for more details.
I have some weird connection to bengali cuisine. I wish I knew the reason. They just so easily attract me and I literally crave to try them. The funniest part is that I am not a fan of Bengali sweets, that actually has the world going crazy. I am a fan of their Biryani, egg rolls, fish curries, fish fry and the chicken curries. You can search this site for more recipes from the east region.
Coming back to this Biryani. Once during my search for a new recipe, I came across the fact that Bangladesh has a unique flavors during Ramadan, specially for Biryani. This particular Biryani is only served during Ramadan in Bangladesh. Ramadan is a wonderful time for Muslims, actually let me rephrase it, Ramadan is a beautiful time for every food lover. As much as some people think that fasting is tough for Muslims, the fact is that most Muslims gain weight during Ramadan. I India, most foods like samosas, kebabs, Haleem etc are made specially during Ramadan and street foods are sold all night with every food you can think of. From crispy pastries to Turkey legs, fried fish to Tandoori Raan, different kinds of Mithai to Icecreams…Ramadan is a month of feasting….
This Biryani recipe is simple and delicious. The steps are easy to follow and pics and recipes show things in complete detail. It can be made in Fish as well with few changes to the recipe. You can always contact me to get the details.
Mr. Parveez’s is from a family of Pathans and the family is believed to be the descendant of the Mughals. As much as the relationship is defined by few asharfis and some ancient utensils that are still owned by the family, and endless tales through “Baats” [people who keep records of families and generations in India]. The Indian version of ancestry. Mr. Parveez is very proud of the fact that he has Mughal blood line, and some how is connected to the fierce Mongolians.
I have lived in Jordan for around two years and I loved the delicious Jordanian food. During those days, I tried a dish called Maqluba, which is made with Rice, chicken, Potatoes, cauliflower and a few other vegetables. The spice level was low and decorated with nuts and raisins. Though I still don’t have the authentic recipe till date for Maqluba, and I do wish to make it some day. But till then, I thought of trying something close.
So, I got down to trying the Biryani that’s more connected to Mr. Parveez’s roots and that when I came up with the recipe of this Biryani. The inspiration came from different dishes cooked with Rice and Chicken in the middle east, specially Morocco and flavors used in early Mughal era. Hope you enjoy te recipe as much as I did.
I learnt this Biryani from my Mother-In-Law. And I love the way she makes it, just perfect mix of the spices and delicious . My Mother in law hasn’t been cooking regularly for quiet some time. She enjoys her retirement since she has daughter in laws to take care of everything needed to run the house. My husband moved to USA at the age of 23 and none of his brothers were married then, so he would always miss the flavors of food cooked by his mom. The hardest part was that he missed the transition of his mother giving away the cooking turns to his sister laws and whenever he visited India, his taste buds would miss his mother’s food and that could not be replaced by the food cooked by his amazing sisters and sister in laws.
By the way, my sister in laws are amazing cooks and some of their dishes are just hard to try out. They have their own charisma which makes their dishes very flavorful. So, one fine day, while enjoying our vacation, I made it a point to jot down how my mother in law made her one in a million Biryani and she was kind enough to share everything she did, with me. As soon as we returned, I made this Biryani and since then, this is my husband’s most favorite. My kids love it too. Something about the spices is such that this Biryani tastes better with goat/ lamb than with chicken, but then again, chicken is also delicious, if that’s your preference.
Mr. Parveez has always been a big fan of the south Indian Food varieties, mainly the vegetarian food. One of the rice dishes, were Vangibhaath. Its basically eggplant cooked with spices and a few other ingredients and mixed with rice and served with peanut chutney on the side.
He had been making this dish since he started cooking in USA and back home, this dish was one of the few dishes that his elder sister would make at home. Soon after we got married, on one of his “Special Breakfast weekend”, he made Vangibhaath. Now, I am not a huge fan of eggplant, but I decided not to tell that to Mr. Parveez since the dish was made with so much love. I tried and I was more than happy to not bring up my dislike for eggplants.
This dish is amazing. The eggplants are completely cooked and merge really well with the spices of the dish. The cashews and chana daal ad a lot of crunch to the dish and lastly the flavor of tamarind is so well blended with the dish that all you would ever taste is a delicious rice dish made with little effort and a lot of love.
We love Biryani. Till date, I have cooked over 45 varieties of Biryani, with different flavors and different styles of cooking. Its amazing how beautifully the flavors blend in together and give out fabulous taste.
Biryani was introduced by Mughals in India. But with time, the addition of spices, chilies, local produce were added to enhance and make numerous varieties of Biryanis. And, I believe that with time, the vegetarians in India adapted the dish and decided to make the vegetarian option. Nevertheless, meat/ chicken/ vegetables, Biryani is always delicious.
Usually, Biryanis always goes hand in hand with chicken/ meat and is a non vegetarians delight. But, little do we realize that vegetarian Biryani would be equally delicious. While making vegetable Biryani, its always advised to use a variety of vegetables, of your choice. The good thing is that veggies are incorporated so easily that even with people who dislike them, enjoy it in this form.
Every Muslim family would tell you there deep bond with meat/ chicken samosas. Believe it or not, samosas are big part of the Muslim culture not just in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh, but also the middle east. These fried triangular delicacy came in with Mughals. In the middle east, they are known as Sambosa and are either fried or baked. When Mughals came to India, they brought these with them and further added spices and veggies to it making them Indianized.
With time, the size of Indian vegetarian samosas became a little large, like the heart of Indian people but since meat samosas would be difficult to fill and make the same size, we stick to the original size of this Mughlai dish.
As a kid, Ramadan and Eid were never complete without these samosas and I would look forward to my mother’s samosas, but, since I grew up in a joint family, it was disappointing not to be able to get more than 2-3, but that taste would linger for a very long time. My mom would make samosa rotis at home from scratch and it was fabulous the way she would roll the rotis together, after putting a number small rotis with little oil in between . She would then cook them and keep taking the layer off. Trust me, its so amazing to watch them coming off and the samosas come out super crispy and delicious.
Keeping that taste alive, I regularly make them and my kids can never have enough. Samosa is a favorite of most people but eating frozen or those samosas that you find in desi grocery store that upset your stomach later a re a torture to your taste buds and body.
This recipe is fairly simple. It would be great if you make your own pastry at home but if for any reason you aren’t able to, buy them from the frozen section and make your own filling. Make sure you make extra, coz no one I know can eat within limit. 😉
