The Sparking Debate: Biryani and Pulao
Biryani and Pulao are the two most commonly used dishes in a desi household. Unfortunately, we can not say that the former is more influential or superior to the latter or vice versa. Both of them are used interchangeably. Recently, a meme sparked a debate on social media about “asal biryani?”
Let us dive deep into the origins of both cuisines and endeavour to conclude the debate.
Pulao
Pulao originated from the Turkish word, derived from the Persian pilav. Pilav is derived from the Hindi word “pulav” meaning a dish of rice and meat. Pulao or Pilaf gets its history traced to the Alexandrian era. But our very own Ibn Sena is considered the father of the modern Pilaf. Ibn Sena, in his book related to medical sciences, dedicated a whole section to different cuisines. He did so to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of different herbal products on health which are used in preparation for various diseases. He also mentioned Pilaf here. Mulla Sadra also known as Sadr ud Din Muhammad Shirazi was an Iranian Philosopher, and he also mentioned Pilaf in his work.
Biryani
In the old ages, when conquests were frequent, many cuisines travelled from the kitchens of the rulers to the camps of nomadic warriors. Biryani has also originated in the same way. When Babur, after years of restless conquests conquered India, he started abhorring the cuisines of his newly conquered lands. It was here, in the Indian kitchens, where the traditional Persian Pilaf was mixed with the Indian spices and creativity, and led to the birth of Biryani. We can say that Biryani is an offshoot of Pilaf. The Nawabs of Awadh and Lucknow secretly teleported this recipe to their kitchens. In the kitchens of Lucknow, coriander, fennel, saffron, and musk were used to enhance the fragrance of this cuisine. It was done so the fragrance of this subtle cuisine could travel from one haveli to another, and in an hour or more the whole of Lucknow should know that food is ready to be served in a haveli.
Our contemporary research has established the conclusion that Biryani is an Indian offshoot of Persian Pilaf which travelled to every nook of India and gave birth to separate varieties. The discourse that Hyderabadi is the “asal biryani’’ seems to be weak because Biryani was introduced in Hyderabad in the mid-18th century under the rule of Aurangzeb. Lucknow’s biryani may be considered as “asal biryani.” We can also differentiate between Biryani and Pilaf by their methods of preparation. The difference is explicitly described as in biryani we use the layering method. The layering of cooked rice with meat. While Pulao or Pilaf is prepared by the absorption method, by boiling rice in a seasoned broth. Therefore, we can say that Biryani and Pulao are different cuisines. Many of the households cook Pulao and label it Biryani. Because both have meat in them, and in an age of mergers, Pulao and Biryani are considered same while former is considered as another method of the latter. But it is not this way. Both cuisines are different from each other while Biryani is the spicy, Indian offshoot of Pulao.
