Biryani

Biryani is a mixed rice dish whose core ingredients include rice, meat (such as chicken, goat, or beef), seafood (like prawns or fish), or vegetables, along with spices. Its presence in Mughal-era India is well documented, but whether it originated there remains a subject of debate. The dish is widely believed to have evolved from a Persian rice dish—either pilau or *birinj biryan*—and combines the slow-cooking technique of Persian pilau with Persian-style yoghurt-marinated meat and a spicy Indian cooking approach, likely developed in the royal kitchens of the Mughal court. Another possibility is that biryani reached South India before the Mughal period, or that pilau was introduced to India and biryani emerged from it before being adopted by the Mughals.

Biryani is one of the most popular dishes across South Asia and among the South Asian diaspora. While it is particularly associated with the region’s Muslim population, it is a mainstream culinary staple enjoyed by people of all backgrounds. Similar dishes, often with local variations, are prepared in many other countries, frequently brought there by South Asian diaspora communities. In India, biryani is the most-ordered dish on online food ordering and delivery services, is commonly served at weddings and celebrations, and has been described as the country’s most popular dish.

The word *biryani* comes from the Persian *biryan* or *beriyan*, meaning “to fry” or “to roast,” which Merriam-Webster notes is probably related to the Sanskrit *bhṛjjati*, with the same meaning. The term is used in the Persian phrase *birinj biryan* (“fried rice”), where *birinj* means “rice.”

Historical sources show that the Mughal text *Ain-i-Akbari* (written between 1589 and 1596), from Emperor Akbar’s reign, mentions two rice dishes: pilau and biryani. It lists ingredients for a dish called *duzdbiryán*, with rice, ghee, meat, and salt, and another called *qimah paláo*. The same text also describes a spiced mutton dish named *biryán* that does not include rice. In 1641, the Portuguese priest Sebastien Manrique observed rice dishes for sale in the tent-city of Emperor Shah Jahan, distinguishing “Persian” pilau from “Mogol” biryanis. The dish is also referenced in letters from Emperor Aurangzeb to his son, where he recalls the flavor of biryani and requests a skilled cook. According to historian Rana Safvi, the earliest known recipe dates from the later Mughal period, during Bahadur Shah Zafar’s time.

Food historian Lizzie Collingham argues that modern biryani developed in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire under Akbar, blending native spicy South Asian rice dishes with Persian yoghurt-marinated meat and the Persian pilau style of garnished rice. Cookery writer Pratibha Karan maintains that biryani is of Indian origin, derived from pilau brought by Muslim traders and invaders, and speculates that pilau was originally an army dish—a one-pot meal of rice and available red meat that eventually evolved into biryani through different cooking methods. Historian Salma Hussein and others suggest biryani came to South Asia from Persia before the Mughal era, likely arriving in the Deccan region via traveling soldier-statesmen and pilgrims. Another theory—that it was introduced by the Mughals from Persia—also exists. The idea that biryani arrived with Timur’s invasion is considered incorrect, as there is no record of the dish in Central Asia at that time.

Food historian K. T. Achaya notes that pilau has “older usage in India” than biryani, suggesting it may have been a precursor. He points out that ancient and early medieval Indian texts, such as the *Mahabharata*, describe rice cooked with meat, and early Tamil literature from the Sangam era (c. 300 BCE–300 CE) mentions rice cooked with “fatted meat” or ghee. However, scholars Ashis Nandy, Colleen Taylor Sen, and Charles Perry argue that despite similar names, these ancient dishes were distinct from both pulao and biryani. Achaya later conceded this point.

Ingredients for biryani vary by region and by the type of meat or vegetables used. Meat—chicken, goat, or beef—is the primary ingredient, along with rice. Seafood such as fish or prawns, and vegetables, are sometimes added. Navratan biryani tends to use sweeter, richer ingredients.