Indian Cuisines: The Great Taste Of Chicken Biriyani
[youtube:PHoFQKcUK78?fs=1;Chicken Biryani Recipe;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHoFQKcUK78?fs=1&feature=related]Biryani is a recipe that comprises of Meat and Rice, layered and cooked together with various spices… It is derived from the Persian word ‘Birian’ which implies roasting before cooking.
This special delicious dish has its origins in Persia. The story goes that the tribals and nomads carried lots of dried meat and rice with them while they traveled, and they layered the meat and rice and added some dry herbs and nuts and allow it to seethe on a wood fire for a little bit and then buried it under the sand for a few hours, after which the dish was deemed ready. It was a fairly simple form of preparing Biryani those days, utilizing nature and its resources.
Biryani has taken a number of forms since then, and gone on to become a gourmet dish, that has been evolved and fine-tuned to such an extent, that now one comes across at least 50 varieties of Biryanis. I may be wrong there, as the number may be greater.
Biryani has Rice and Meat as its basic elements. The rest of the ingredients, vary based on the type and style of the Biryani being prepared.
There are many sorts of Biryani within India with each city having its own style, but perhaps Biryani from Hyderabad is the most famous of the lot. Believe it or not, some of the biryani recipes are intensely protected by restaurants and families across generations. Biryani was infact brought to India by the Mughals which was then improvised by the local Indians to suit their spice craving.
A great Biryani consists of nicely cooked meat and the right mix of herbs and spices, baked along with rice. The meat and rice is not mixed while cooking. They are both cooked independently. The last stage of the cooking consists of layering the two alternatively and generally cooked either in an oven or on conventional wood fire, utilizing low heat.