Chicken biryani is amongst the most admired dishes of the cuisines of India and Pakistan.

In olden era this recipe was specially made on the occasions such as festivals, parties as well as at the time of vacations.

To understand more about Biryani we require to traverse back into the past. An account of Biryani follows….

Mughals great love for food & the availability of the vast range of Spices in India gave birth this fusion type preparation.

Previous accounts show Biryani being made from Lamb for the most part, but now there are countless forms to this, even Vegetable Biriyani catering to vegetarians.This endless variety, elegance, beauty & art involved in Biryani cooking made me to devote a section for Biryani Recipes.

Chicken biryani is a complete meal prepared by combining long-grained rice with aromatic spices, onion in addition to yogurt, if requiredThis dish is an example of fine culinary art,hence it is prepared with perfection.Biryani is the name originated from the Farsi dialect where Birian means frying of unwashed riceand smeared in oil.This process gave the a nutty flavor.Based on the name, and the cooking style the dish originated in Persia or Arabia.Apart from the historical particulars, the Biryani’s story gets a bit interesting with mythology.One has it that Timor ‘the Lame’ brought it down from Kazakhstan via Afghanistan to north India.Some early evidences also indicates that Mumtaz Mahal, the spouse of a famous Mughal empire, has feasted the whole Mughal army with the appetizing dish of Chicken Biryani Lucknow (Awadh) is the capital of Indian State Uttar Pradesh. Biryani left it’s footprint from the Mughals in Awadh. From Lucknow the Biryani moved to Calcutta when, in 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was deposed by the British. This Nawab (King) when deposed moved with his army of cooks and the Biryani.

There are 2 essential types of Biryanis: Kutchi and Pukki.

Kutchi - Raw type.Raw chicken and uncooked rice are layered along with spices and curry and kept on low fire to cook. This gentle cooking method is called ‘dum’ style or dum Pukht and this is primarily used to prepare all sort of biryanis.In Dum style, meat and rice is cooked over low-flame without adding water, in the meats own juices and bone marrow.

Pukki - Cooked type.Pukki style incorporates the separate cooking of rice and meat, then layering together.

Hyderabad(Southern city of India) is famous for Kutchi type Biryanis, were as Lucknow(Northern city of India) for Pukki

Though the process of making Chicken biryani is time-consuming but the resulting dish is always superb.The secret of making an awesome chicken biryani is all in the spices.It is very important to use right kind of rice and correct quantity of spices in order to make an authentic chicken biryani. Basmati rice and pure ghee is essentially required.

For further fine points on the plentiful kinds of chicken biriyani please visit the ifood community at chicken biryani Those interested in vegetable biriyani recipes can take a look at vegetable biriyani