Biryani: The Bhubaneswar Baloney

Biryani, Indian dishes and then Chinese are the preferred food ordered in Bhubaneswar.

This reminds me of the famous words of late French President Charles De Gaulle: “How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese?”

Well, the British could well have said it would be impossible to rule a country with 100 versions of Biryani, before deciding to relinquish power in India.

In Bhubaneswar it is Biryani, a neo-imperialism or culinary chauvinism. There are so many versions of Biryani available now in the city, but we are yet to experience a near-perfect one. At present, we have the raging debate – a veg Biryani must be called a Pulao, not a Biryani, or a Biryani that doesn’t meet the set standards of taste and preparation styles to be called a Pulao, and not a Biryani.

Is Pulao inferior to a Biryani? Are there regulatory standards which define or differentiate a Biryani from a Pulao? Is vegetable Biryani or any other Biryani made with anything other than meat – dairy and plant protein — really a thing? These are the questions in the minds of many food lovers. And with due respect to all debaters of the topic and emotional lovers of the romantic Biryanis of India, their conviction or confusion is somewhat valid and, at the same time, unjustified.

I put both Pulao and Biryani in two genres. The first is characterised by flavour and aroma. The second relies on taste and substance. It is like poetry and prose as it were – both great in their own place.

Pulao and Biryani use rice cooked with spices. Biryani, as considered, must contain meat, and Pulao, or a Pilaf, can be made with meat and vegetables or devoid of meat or vegetables. After both these dishes arrived in India, they adapted to local palates, and got Indianised and now there is the Khao Gali indefinite version of Biryani in Bhubaneswar.

Biryani came to north India first, or did it reach the coast of Kerala much earlier through Arabic traders? Is the Biryani cooked in Lucknow, or Awadh region, a Biryani or a Pulao? These are some of the other questions that need to be answered to reach a conclusive understanding of what is to be called a Biryani and what not.

Biryani is considered to be rice and meat cooked separately, and then layered one above the other, with fried onions. The layered meat and rice are cooked through a Dum cooking process, in which the cooking vessel is sealed so as not to let any steam escape and is cooked on low fire until both the rice and the meat are cooked to perfection. Various aromatic spices are used, and saffron provides the quintessential zafrani – yellow or the near Kodak-yellow colour.

Some versions of Biryanis cooked in different parts of the city will fulfil all conditions, and exceptions to this method may have been created giving distinctive Biryanis in different outlets. A popular Biryani is the ‘Kacche gosht ki Hyderabadi Biryani’, where rice and raw marinated meat are cooked together, with fried onions and mint leaves concealed in a Dum. Going by the taste of it, none of them have that unique taste of Hyderabadi ‘Kacche gosht ki Biryani’, though considered the numero uno Biryani in India.

The most popular Biryani, however prepared, is the ‘Pakke gosht ki Biryani’ version (diluted version). Thus we have a version within a version.

Now the biggest debate — which is more authentic Biryani: Gosht (mutton) Biryani or chicken Biryani? And what about Deepak Biryani, Piru Bhai Biryani or Dhadia Mia Biryani in Cuttack? I will vouch for these any day.

The Awadhi Biryani available in the city is a big joke, though many spices are used in limited number in which ensures no one ingredient outdoes another flavour. The amalgamation of these different spice flavours makes the Biryani (or Pulao?) so delicious, yet light on the gut. The unique method of preparing meat and rice dishes in Awadhi style is to cook the rice in meat stock called Yakhani, along with the meat.

‘Mutton Yakhani Pulao’ of Awadhi Biryani does not necessarily follow the layering of meat and rice. However, saffron is added along with rose water and kewda. The old school of thought will label this biryani as a Pulao which might irk many of the foodies in the city. All said and done, the end product is yellow rice with some chunks of meat.

Similarly, Bangalore (Donne Biryani) Dindigul, Ambur, Madurai, Chettinad and Andhra Pradesh Biryanis are here, with slightly different preparation styles, each creating a unique yet flavourful version. This comes under the umbrella of Thalaserry-style Biryani, with the long grain basmati rice which is a crucial feature of Biryani. But most Biryanis from south India do not use it. Rather a short and thin rice called ‘Jeera Kasala’, or ‘Seeraga Samba rice’, is the preferred choice for the Biryani.

In a Thalaserry style, the meat is stewed in masala gravy, which has spices, onions, and even a bit of tomato, preparing a flavourful base of spicy meat stew, in which the rice cooked with whole spices, is added, and then sealed and cooked in a Dum style. Meat and rice are cooked separately, and the Dum process is followed. However, the lack of layering does not take away the fantastic flavours of a Thalaserry Biryani. And we can never dare to call it a Pulao. It’s one of the fantastic biryanis of India, which has the south Indian Malabari touch.

In the city one finds many outlets offering this style of Biryani but I do dare the process. It is not real value for money, it’s highly priced – it touches the ceiling due to high franchise fee. The portioning is rationed for cost adjustment. Food influencers please stop this ‘wah wah’. I can vouch for the delicious flavour and texture Jeera Kasala rice can provide, absorbing all the flavours of meat, and is simply a treat along with the meat. But do we have the best chefs to prepare the same in Bhubaneswar?

We are just satisfied with a potato, egg, a substantial amount of rice (coloured) and a big chunk of protein. Quite happy with a price between Rs 150 and 200.

We have actually missed out creating a Biryani version of our own. Our own backyard has so many varieties of rice, many hotel management institutes, two of the best agriculture and animal husbandry departments. But we still depend on the Biryanis created outside the state.

What about doing research on the Kanika and Pulao – remember these were served to us on sal leaves plates during special functions? It’s still not too late – let’s give a form of Biryani to our future generation which they can be proud of.