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A hearty one-pot meal like biryani serves as the perfect fuel while being stationed at the couch, watching your favourite teams play in the IPL finale. Both teams – Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad – might have their own set of players who might lead them to win the trophy tomorrow, however what they do have in common is the delicacy of biryani. The rice preparation – which is treated differently depending on the region it hails from, also varies in flavour due to the manner in which spice is used as well as the techniques adopted during the process. Indulge your senses with an entertaining match and some delicious Hyderabadi or Kolkata-style biryani – based on the characteristics of each one to suit your personal preferences.
Kolkata Biryani
A 19th century discovery – the Kolkata biryani is most famous for its mellow spices and use of whole potatoes to be as key an ingredient as the rice and meat. Introduced to the city by Lucknow’s nawab of Awadh – Wajid Ali Shah – the biryani’s origins suggest that the course of making the biryani which typically consists of mutton, allows the potatoes to absorb flavours from other ingredients while also adding bulk to the dish. Similar to the Awadhi biryani, Kolkata biryani uses yoghurt as the base to marinate the meat before it is combined with yellow tinged rice and a pronounced sweetness to the final preparation. Since the making of this variation of biryani allows for the addition of boiled eggs and potatoes, the Kolkata biryani is usually eaten as it is or alongside chaap – a slow-cooked, spicy meat preparation.
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Hyderabadi Biryani
Unlike its Kolkata counterpart, Hyderabadi biryani uses coconut and saffron as key flavours for marination of chicken or mutton. While Kolkata-style biryani-making uses a method of cooking the meat and rice in separate stages before final assembly, the latter is made by sandwiching raw meat or kachcha gosht between layers of rice before cooking. This type of biryani is heavy on spice, and traditionally complements a cooling Burani raita or mirchi ka salan for maximum impact of flavour. The Hyderbadi biryani also branches further into two sub-types – namely the kachchi (raw) and pakki (cooked). Infused with a rich amber from the liberal use of saffron, the preparation from the kitchens of the Nizams has a more luxurious taste due to the royal influence which encouraged the use of ghee and dry fruits.
