Biryani: History and Key Facts

Biryani is a mixed rice dish traditionally made with spiced meat, seafood, or vegetables. It was present in Mughal-era India, though whether it was created there is debated. It is thought to derive from a Persian rice dish, either pilau or birinj biryan. The dish makes use of slow-cooking as in Persian pilau, combined with Persian-style yoghurt-marinated meat and a spicy Indian style of cooking; it was likely developed in the Mughal court kitchens. It is also possible that biryani was brought to South India before the Mughal era, or that pilau was brought to India and biryani was developed from it before being adopted by the Mughals.

Biryani is one of the most popular dishes in South Asia and among the South Asian diaspora. The dish is often associated with the region's Muslim population in particular, but is nevertheless a mainstream culinary staple embraced by every demographic. Similar dishes are prepared in many other countries, often with local variations, and often brought there by South Asian diaspora populations. Biryani is the most-ordered dish on Indian online food ordering and delivery services, is used in weddings and celebrations throughout the region, and has been described as the most popular dish in India.

Source and attribution

Text excerpted from Biryani by Wikipedia contributors, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. The extract is abridged and formatting has been adjusted; the adapted text on this page is shared under the same licence. Revision history.