The word ‘Biryani’ is just enough to make me crave it. Do you think it is weird? It is odd if it is just me but gladly the most non-vegetarian Indian population is so fond of Biryani and they just love to have it whenever they get a chance. I am not an exception. The curiosity in me pushed me to learn more about my favourite food. Hence, this blog. It has the cultural history of Biryani and about how much Indians love Biryani. Complete research! If you disagree or would like to tell me your thoughts, please feel free to mail me at feedback@digimots.com.
CULTURAL HISTORY OF BIRYANI:
The Persian Empire, which was one of the influential kingdoms in the past, was located in the southwestern province and it is now called Iran. The cuisine of Persia has a long history, and Persian cuisine is still cherished. The Persians too cherished their food culture.
Xenophon, a Greek historian of 5th BCE, remarks, “The Persians have given up none of the cooked dishes invented in the former days; on the contrary, they are always devising new ones, and condiments as well” (p.4). NajimiehK.Batmanglij, in his book A Taste of Persia, says, “The land was the first home of many common herbs, from basil to coriander, and to scores of familiar preparations, including sweets, sour sauces, kababs, and almond pastries” (p.2).
Even the famous snack, samosa, is brought from Persia to India during the Mughal invasion of India. Babur, born in Uzbekistan, was forced to leave his kingdom because of the opposition. From middle Asia, he reached the Indian subcontinent to create his own kingdom. He fought the first battle of Panipat with Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty and won the war. This is an important step in history that marked the beginning of the powerful Mughal Empire which ruled India for around 331 years. (‘India varalaaru’ Dr.N.Subramanian) The arrival of Babur to India and his discontent with Indian food are comically drawn by Anirban Bora, a graphic editor at Economic Times.
During their reign, Mughals had spread their culture to most parts of India which include their Persian dishes too. One of the mouth-watering Persian dishes is BIRYANI. The word ‘Biryani’ is derived from the Persian word ‘birian’ meaning ‘fried rice.’ The city Esfahan is considered as the home to this dish biryani. In Iran, it is normally eaten along with ‘Nan-e-Taftun,’ a type of bread. According to Larousse Gastronomique, an encyclopedia of gastronomy, Biryani is:
A north Indian dish of Persian origin. Lamb or mutton was the original meat, but chicken or fish may be used. Channa dal may be added and in the west prawns (shrimps) are popular. Basmati rice, spiced with saffron, turmeric and black cardamom and often enriched with raisins and almonds, is layered with the spiced cooked meat mixture. Then the Biriani is cooked in a tightly covered pot to which ghee or milk may be added. When served for special occasions, Birianis may be finished with a garnish of edible silver leaf. (p. 16)
Even Pushpesh Pant, a food expert, in his cookbook, ‘Cuisines’ says, “The Khebab and pilaf (better known as pulav), interestingly enough, may have been born — the former in Turkey and the latter in Central Asian steepes — but both elsewhere reached sublime heights only when they struck root in this land’s fertile soil” (p.16).
These instances prove the place of origin of Biryani to be Persia. There are also varied versions of how biryani originated. One of the famous versions is the story of Mumtaz Mahal, the consort of Shah Jahan. It is supposed that Mumtaz Mahal visited the army barracks once and she felt that the soldiers need to consume more nutritious food. So, she ordered the chefs to provide soldiers with food that consists of rice and meat. Yet, the most commonly accepted version is that biryani had its origin in Persia.
Chef Raju Karthikeyan says, “Initially, Biryani was prepared for the soldiers in the battlefields as it is convenient to cook and also nutritious. Before that, it had been a dish for the royal families.” The Mughals had spread their food culture to the places where they had their hold. When the Mughals ruled Kolkata, Hyderabad, they introduced biryani in those provinces too. Then came the Kolkata biryani, Hyderabadi biryani, Lucknow biryani, etc. The people in these regions did not adopt just one way of cooking biryani but there were differences in the use of ingredients for biryani. For example, the Calcutta biryani consists of potatoes as one of its ingredients but the biryani prepared in Chennai does not have potatoes.
Though the Hyderabadi Biryani is very famous even among the people of Tamil Nadu, the people of Hyderabad could not obtain a GI for the Hyderabadi biryani. The Deccan Chronicle, in the article “’Hyderabadi Biryani’ Denied GI for failing to prove Historic Origin,” reports: “The famous ‘Hyderabadi Biryani’ has failed to secure a GI (Geographical Indications) tag after its applicant could not prove the historical origin and data relating to this delectable dish, with supporting documents, according to the GI registry in Chennai” (n.p.,).
In Tamil Nadu too, the rule of Nawabs prevailed. General Zulfikar khan invaded and captured places like Vellore, Ginjee, Arcot, etc. Arcot was made the headquarters of the Nawabs. The Nawabs, in the later period also captured the Carnatic region. Consequently, even today, the places that were ruled by Nawabs are famous for their biryanis as their culture had blended with the local culture deeply, by the time they were defeated by the English rulers.
“This state has served you awesome vegetarian food, terrific Biryanis and everything in between” (p.274), admires Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma in their book Highway on my Plate-2. The plural form added to the word ‘Biryani’ implies that there are different varieties of Biryani. The variety may be in the way they are prepared or in the ingredients used.
OON SORU: PERSIAN – TAMIL LINK IN FOOD HABITS
Mughals are not the only ones who ate rice mixed with meat. The humans who lived in places where rice is the staple food could have eaten in the same way i.e., rice mixed with meat. There are proofs in Sangam literature that Tamil people had a similar kind of dish called ‘Oonsoru’ in their tradition for the same reason for which the Persians prepared biryani. The Tamil people too prepared oonsoru for their soldiers.
The oonsoru was prepared using rice, meat, turmeric, ghee, pepper, coriander, etc. In the book PathupaatuAarichi, M.Raasamaanikam says that rice varieties like curd rice, tamarind rice, oonsoru were present since the Sangam age. He also gives a statement comparing the oonsoru with the present-day Biryani.
In an article, “A Taste of Sangam Age,” Mr. Jacob Aruni, a Masterchef and the principal of the catering domain of Cheran Arts and Science College says, “The credit often goes to the Moghuls for introducing the biriyani. But there was a second-century version of the biryani, the `OonSoru,’ which was served as a feast for victorious warriors.”(n.p.,)
The oonsoru was prepared without the use of onions, tomatoes, and spices as it was not available then. The mode of preparation and the ingredients varies for biryani and oonsoru but both dishes are prepared by mixing rice with meat.
A blog ‘Iliveinafryingpan’ presents an unbelievable truth that the Iranian Biryani is not rice mixed with meat but rich meat along with taftun bread. The way the Biryani is prepared differs with time. The existence of oonsoru is now unquestionable but the credit of popularizing the Biryani goes to the Mughals. In Chennai, the small Biryani shops are mostly owned by Muslims, especially in Triplicane.
One such shop is the Moghul Biryani in Royapettah whose kitchen is in Amir Mahal. Amir Mahal is a palace built in 1798 and had been the official residence of the prince of Arcots since 1876. Even today, the families of the Nawabs live in Amir Mahal. The close connection between the Persian dish and the Islamic people is undeniable even in the present.
IMPACT OF CULTURAL GLOBALISATION
In his book Indian Society and Culture, S.P.Nanda defines Globalization as “the integration of national economy to the world economy” (p.3.1). He also says that globalization lets the developed countries use the labor and resources of other economically low countries through direct investments and “for developing countries, it means the liberalization of the existing protectionist policy by inviting foreign investments and restructuring existing institutions so that they could enter into the world market” (p.3.1).
India, too, opened its gates to the global market in 1991 and allowed foreign investments, privatization, and simple licensing policy. This marked a new beginning in the economic and cultural lives of Indians. Globalization is not a new phenomenon. It was present even in the earliest of times when the hunters and gatherers moved from one place to another and when exchanges took place among clans through the barter system. The drawback, back then, was that globalization was limited due to the absence of technologies that connected people more easily.
In the book, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, Manfred B.Steger says, “the answer to the question of whether globalization constitutes a new phenomenon depends upon how far we are willing to extend the chain of causation that resulted in those recent technologies and social arrangements that most people have come to associate with this fashionable buzzword” (p.20)
The earlier inventions are the actual causes for the development in the recent advancements in all the fields. Globalization has helped in reducing the cost of production, created job opportunities, devalued the rupee, fast development in the capital market, and importantly, it allowed the mixing of cultures. The impact of globalization was seen in the growth in the number of biryani hotels too.
Globalization and liberalization led people to open more biryani shops. Rahmadullah, a butcher and a caterer who runs a meat stall in Aynavaram, says “I started working at an early age of 16 at my father’s stall. It’s been 27 years since I started my own meat stall. There had been various changes in this field. The people who were rich used to order biryani in our catering service and they preferred mutton. Nowadays, the class difference in ordering, for nuptials, has disappeared and people of all classes prefer biryani.” This is, perhaps, because of the development of the broiler chicken. This exchange of ideas and investment due to globalization led to its increased production.
In the book, UnavuYutham, S.Ramakrishnan says: “the vending of chicken even in the roadside shops is a change that happened only in the last ten years” (p.210). The advancement in technology has also led to a development of craze among the youngsters on Biryani. One of the workers at Shahi Moghul biryani shop says, “Our biryani shop was started in 2004. Until 2012, our shop was not that famous. Many started to visit when one of the students took a photo of our shop and posted it on Facebook. Since then, many students came and tasted our Biryani, and later, we started getting orders from colleges for events. Families started visiting too.” Technological advancement helped in making the work easy for the capitalists. Manfred B.Steger says in his book Globalization: A Very Short Introduction:
It would be foolish to deny that these new digital technologies played a crucial role in the compression of world-time and world-space. The Internet, in particular, has assumed a pivotal function in facilitating globalization through the creation of the World Wide Web that connects billions of individuals, civic society associations, and governments. (p.18)
Biryani has blended into our culture and now tops the list of preferred food among the people in Tamil Nadu. There was recent news telecasted that Biryani is the most ordered online food. This shows the place of Biryani in the hearts of the people of Tamil Nadu. In the article ‘The king of Biryani is…’ published by The Hindu, RanjaniRajendra says, “what’s the one food that almost everyone loves to feast on, whether it’s to celebrate, as a pick me up or a Sunday binge? Chances are it’s Biryani.”
In most of Tamil movies, the significance of Biryani in our culture is shown. In the movie ‘Biryani,’ the lead actors were so particular about having Biryani after having liquor. Nowadays, youngsters to aged people who are addicted to alcohol also prefer Biryani.
Another popular culture is the ‘treat’ culture. If something good happens or if a team achieves victory in a match, the students ask the coach or the friend to treat them with food, especially Biryani. For example, in the novel ‘My Father Baliah’ by Y.B.Sathyanarayana, the teacher encourages the students to win the match by saying, “If you win, I shall treat you to Biryani at the Alfa Hotel”(p.126). The students became so excited that one of the students thought, “Now we not only wanted to win for the sake of winning but also to be able to visit Alfa hotel and have its famed Biryani”(p.126). Youngsters always prefer Biryani as the treat given by their friends.
In the movie ‘MayandiKudumabthar,’ the father always wanted to have Biryani but he could not spend the money to have it because of his poor condition whereas his son will be given Biryani as lunch when he gets a job in a reputed company. This particular scene gives a juxtaposition of two sections of people. Also, Biryani is a favorite for most people. Biryani, from the court of Mughals and royal palaces, had come to roads and is now popular food among everyone. There are many biryani shops in the Triplicane area. This was definitely the aftermath of globalization and liberalization.
The Biryani has also become the preferred food of ghosts too according to Tamil movies. The movies, like Muni and Kanchana, feature the ghosts eating Biryani with much excitement. This shows the extent to which Biryani has blended into the Tamil culture. In social media, the trending ‘Biryani University’ shows the obsession with Biryani in nations such as India, Pakistan, etc. Even the famous American comedian Jeremy McLellan has posted a comment on it, “I went to the wrong school” which means that he wishes he could have gone to Biryani University.
There was also an article published in The Hindu titled ‘A Quest for Great Biryani,’ where a group of foodies and bloggers go in search of the best south Indian Biryani. There were also various ‘Biryani fest’ organized by people at various places. The enthusiasm for biryani is now increasing more and more. People, nowadays, prefer to eat Biryani rather than meals at restaurants. This is because Biryani is a convenient food. Taste is a main factor but convenience is also one of the reasons to order the dish. As mentioned above, the reason behind the introduction of this special dish is because it is convenient to cook and nutritious too.
In an article ‘Students at Delhi University fined for Cooking Biryani’ published in The Express Tribune, the former President of the student union said, “the biryani had been cooked because the union representatives had not known when they would be allowed to meet VC”(n.p.,). This shows that the dish Biryani is convenient to cook and so the students had cooked it during their waiting period.
Chef Raju Karthikayan says, “The dish Biryani is convenient to cook and so ordered mostly and of course, because of its taste too. The Christians too treat people with Biryani at nuptials or any other event as it is comfortable to cook and serve. The Christians in India do not have a separate culture when it comes to food except for the dishes mentioned in the bible. So, their culture has adopted the Indian culture to a certain extent.”
The youngsters nowadays try their best not to miss the marriages of their Muslim and Christian friends as they serve Biryani as part of their ceremony. It is humorous but it is true. The few popular hotels for Biryani in Chennai are Buhari, Thalapakatti, Kalyanabhawan, Charminar, Chennai Rawther, etc. There was a dispute between the Chennai Rawther and Thalapkatti over the name ‘Thalapakattu’ which means turban.
The article ‘Thalapakatti It is: HC Verdict on Biryani War’ published in the Times of India says, “In the mid-2000s a chain of restaurants-Thalapakattu Biriyani and Fast Food- started operations in Chennai. The Dindigul group filed a suit in the Madras high court against the Chennai chain” (n.p.,). Later, the Chennai group agreed not to use the name ‘Thalapakattu.’ It’s not just them who use this name but many small fast food shops use the name ‘Thalapakattu’ in Chennai.
This Chennai group has various branches and is a large group and so it has been brought under the law. Buhari is the first opened restaurant in Chennai and it has invented a variety of dishes and the most famous among them is ‘Chicken 65.’ Buhari is also famous for its aromatic Biryani. It was established in the year 1951. Buhari was the only restaurant in the mount road area in those days, but now there are various restaurants for biryani in and around Chennai.
The name ‘Biryani’ reminds us of rice mixed with meat and spices and an aromatic smell. It, nowadays, represents the colorful spicy masala or the rice mixed with vegetables. A recent advertisement ‘Briyaneez’s Chicken Briyani Noodles’ is a product where the chicken biryani masala is added to the noodles and so it is called biryani noodles. This advertisement perfectly shows how just the colorful masala is enough for the product makers to name it biryani noodles. The vegetarians call the rice mixed with vegetables ‘vegetable biryani.’
A famous YouTuber and blogger, Madan Gowri speaks of the introduction of vegetable biryani and paneer biryani. He says, “The vegetarian cooks during the reign of the Nizam of Hyderabad learned the art of cooking biryani and they cooked rice with paneer and vegetables.” This is how different varieties of biryani came into being. Biryani has become popular among foods like the Lord Vinayagar in Gods, Cricket in sports, and coffee in beverages.
Biryani, Cricket, and coffee did not have their origin in India but now has become one with Indian culture that people hardly look at as a practice of an alien culture. Biryani has become so popular that people have gone to the extent of creating a ‘Briyani Anthem’ as a parody of ‘Shape of You.’
This ‘Briyani Anthem’ summed up the impact of biryani on present-day popular culture.