The Biriyani Viriyani Basics
Call it by whatever name, Biriyani, Viriyani, Biriani, Beriani, Briyani, Breyani, Briani, Birani, or Buriyani, every rice eating foodie salivates on hearing just the name. The word birinj, a middle Persian word was ultimately derived from Sanskrit vrihi or rice. Most senior tamils call it Birinji.
In North India, different varieties of biryani developed as Mughlai cuisine, Rampur or Awadhi cuisine. In South India, where rice is more widely used, several distinct varieties of biryani emerged from Hyderabad Deccan as well as Ambur, Thanjavur, Chettinad, Salem, Dindigal, Kerala Malabar, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
According to historian Lizzie Collingham, the modern biryani developed in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire and is a mix of the native spicy rice dishes of India and the Persian pilaf.
Indian restaurateur Kris Dhillon believes that the dish originated in Persia, and was brought to India by the Mughals.
According to Pratibha Karan, who wrote the book Biryani, the biryani is of South Indian origin, derived from pilaf varieties brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Arab traders. She speculates that the armies, unable to cook elaborate meals, would prepare a one-pot dish where they cooked rice with whichever meat was available.
According to Vishwanath Shenoy, the owner of a biryani restaurant chain in India, one branch of biryani comes from the Mughals, while another was brought by the Arab traders to Malabar in South India.
