Sometimes it’s greasy and sometimes it’s dry. But it’s always spicy. It’s a dish full of long-grain rice that will not stick together and holds a succulent piece of meat inside it. It’s pleasantly aromatic, but not too sharp. The lovely aroma of spice and the delightful sight of the dish bring water to your mouth. And when you taste it, the subtle flavor and taste of the spices mildly and pleasantly come through. It’s well-cooked, flavorsome, succulent and delicious. And once you start eating, you will end up cleaning your plate down to the last grain of rice.

That is a plate of delicious Biryani placed in front of you. Biryani is perhaps the most popular rice based dish in the world that is available in many forms. Though, this dish is known as a traditional famous Indian cuisine to the world, Biryani from Dhaka means something very special to the food lovers. Traditional Indian Biryani has a number of variants like Hyderabadi Biryani, Afghani Biryani, Sindhi Biryani, Lucknowi Biryani etc. which clearly represents the different preparation for different states of India. But Biryani from Dhaka has mostly two variations, Kachhi Biryani and Chicken Biryani. Kachhi Biryani is cooked with mutton (and rarely with beef) while Chicken Biryani has chicken as its meat ingredient. In the Indian preparation, the long grain Bashmati rice is used for Biryani. But most recipes of Biryani from Dhaka use the Bangladeshi ‘Kali-Jira’ rice, very fine polao rice which is produced only in the northern districts like Dinajpur. Continue reading “Dhaka’s Biryani – A Taste of Aristocracy”