Biryani  

“This is not a dish—it’s memory sealed in steam. A thousand hands shaped this before it reached yours.”

Biryani  

Biryani is not one recipe—it is a lineage.
From Hyderabad to Lucknow, Karachi to Kolkata, every version is a universe. Meat or vegetables marinated in yogurt and spices, layered between fragrant basmati rice, cooked low and slow until every grain carries a whisper of the whole.

Ingredients

  • For the rice:
  • 2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked 30 mins
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • 4 cloves
  • 1-inch cinnamon stick
  • Salt to taste
  • For the main layer (choose one):
  • 1 lb chicken, lamb, or vegetables (like potatoes, cauliflower, peas)
  • ¾ cup yogurt
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • Salt and chili to taste
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • For the birista (fried onions):
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • Ghee or oil for frying
  • To finish:
  • Pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • Chopped cilantro + mint
  • Optional: raisins, cashews, rosewater

How The Alchemy Happens

Marinate: Combine your protein or vegetables with yogurt, spices, lemon, and salt. Let sit for at least 1 hour (overnight if possible).

Cook rice: Boil rice in plenty of water with whole spices until 70% done. Drain and set aside.

Make birista: Slowly fry onions in ghee until deep golden. Drain on paper towel.

Layering time:

In a heavy pot, spread marinated base.

Add half the rice.

Sprinkle fried onions, mint, cilantro, ghee, saffron milk.

Repeat rice, toppings.

Seal the pot: Cover with tight lid or dough. Cook on low heat (dum) for 30–40 minutes. Let rest 10 before opening.

Serve hot with raita, hard-boiled egg, or silence.

🔙 Back to the Kitchen

“There are dishes, and then there are epics. Biryani is a memory with a heartbeat.”