*Biryani is derived from the Persian word Birian, which means βfried before cookingβ and Birinj, the Persian word for rice.
*It is said Timur, brought the precursor to the biryani with him when he arrived at the frontiers of India in 1398
*Another legend has it that the dish was brought to the southern Malabar coast of India by Arab traders who were frequent visitors there.
*Sangam literature als
o mentions records of a rice dish known as Oon Soru in Tamil literature as early as the year 2 A.D. Oon Soru was said to be made of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf, and was used to feed military warriors.
*Mumtaz asked the chef to prepare a special dish that combined meat and rice to provide balanced nutrition to the soldiers β and the result was biryani of course!
*the dum pukht method (slow breathing oven in Persian) was used to make biryani. In this method, the ingredients are loaded in a pot and slow cooked over charcoal, sometimes from the top also, to allow the dum or steam to works its magic. The pot, sealed around the edges with dough, allows the steaming meat to tenderise in its own juices while flavouring the rice
*In the north, long grain brown rice was traditionally used to make biryani. It has today been replaced by the fragrant basmati rice. On the other hand, in the south, biryanis were and are still made using local varieties of rice, like the zeera samba, kaima, jeerakashala and kala bhaat, that lend their distinct taste, texture and aroma to the dish.