Return to Home
The dish "biryani" first came in South Asia when Islamic rule was at its peak. This dish came into popularity in the kitchen of the Hyderabad princely state. The biryani has two main parts: the meat and the rice. The meat is either chicken or goat. You might be curious to see the absence of beef. In Hinduism (the majority religion in South Asia), beef eating is seen as a taboo, in the same way that Jews and Muslims do not eat pork or shellfish. For this reason, biryani normally consists of chicken or goat. Of course, the dish would not be South Asian without a large portion of various spices in the recipe. The other part of biryani is the rice; which is a staple and a way to cooldown the mouth after eating the spicy meat. To reiterate, the biryani is meat and rice together; they are not referred to as such separately. In my opinion, this dish helps show the religious diversity of South Asia; in how it was made in a Muslim court, but catered towards Hindus.
For those who want a detailed recipe click here.