Sometimes it is greasy and other times it is dry. But it is always spicy. It is a plate full of long grain rice that does not stick and contains a succulent piece of meat inside. It is pleasantly aromatic, but not too spicy. The delicious aroma of spices and the delicious view of the plate make your mouth water. And when you taste it, the subtle flavor and spice flavor comes through smoothly and pleasantly. It is well cooked, tasty, succulent and delicious. And once you start eating, you’ll end up cleaning your plate down to the last grain of rice.
That is a plate of delicious Biryani placed in front of you. Biryani is perhaps the most popular rice-based dish in the world that is available in many forms. Although this dish is known as a world famous traditional Indian cuisine, Dhaka Biryani means something very special to food lovers. Traditional Indian Biryani has a number of variants like Hyderabadi Biryani, Afghani Biryani, Sindhi Biryani, Lucknowi Biryani, etc. It clearly represents the different preparation for the different states of India. But Dhaka Biryani has mainly two variations, Kachhi Biryani and Chicken Biryani. Kachhi Biryani is cooked with lamb (and rarely beef), while Chicken Biryani has chicken as a meat ingredient. In Indian preparation, long grain Bashmati rice is used for Biryani. But most of Dhaka’s Biryani recipes use Bangladeshi ‘Kali-Jira’ rice, a very fine Polish rice that is produced only in northern districts like Dinajpur.
Biryani is derived from a Persian word ‘beryan’ which means ‘fried’ or ‘roasted’. Biryani is believed to have been brought to the Indian subcontinent by Muslim travelers and Arab merchants. However, there is also another saying about the origin of Biryani. At the time of war during the Mughal period, the soldiers were provided with a meal. Rice and meat were cooked together and served. Later, such a recipe was introduced more formally at the royal dinner and eventually became immensely popular throughout the rice-eating community in the Indian subcontinent.
There are numerous fast food restaurants throughout Dhaka city these days and the number is growing. Even international fast food chains like KFC and Pizza Hut have several outlets in different parts of the city. Despite the dominance of fast food, particularly among the young generation, Biryani still has a very special place in the hearts of citizens. “Almost every Friday morning we have a special cricket match with our college mates and the losing team has to treat the winners to a special meal with Biryani. We visit different restaurants every week to try different Biryani. But never! we get tired! “said Sabbir Iqbal, a 29-year-old executive who works with Banglalink.
Biryani is so popular in this part of the world that the wedding or any other ceremony will almost certainly have Biryani on its menu. “I got married almost 34 years ago. At the time, Dhaka was not today’s Dhaka. Things have changed a lot since then. But few things remain the same as decades before. The menu at my wedding receptions had Biryani then and still has today. My youngest daughter is about to get married next January and surely Biryani will be served as the main dish. We ‘Dhakaiya’ (residents of old Dhaka who live there for many years), people cannot think of our celebrations no plates full of delicious Biryani, “said Fazley Noman, a 60-year-old retiree who has been living on Rankin Street, Wari since he was born.
Although Biryani is counted as the heritage food of Old Dhaka, there are also several food stores around the new city that serve excellent quality Biryani. “We like fast food menus like pizza, pasta or hamburgers while we go out with friends but whenever there is a special occasion to celebrate like a birthday or something like that, Biryani de Malancha or the Khushbu restaurant is our first preference”, this is the Nusrat’s statement. Khandker, a 21-year-old student at Dhaka University. Biryani from Dhaka is not only available in Dhaka. It has spread to hundreds of subcontinental restaurants in many great cities of the world. Nishat Afza, a 34-year-old NRB living in London currently visiting her homeland, mentioned: “Every now and then we go out to eat and often we end up visiting the famous Dhaka Biryani House located on Mile End Road to taste of Bangladesh “.
Whenever the Dhaka Biryani is spoken of, the first name that comes up is Fakhruddin Biryani. The dish is named after the late famous chef Mohammad Farkhruddin, who was better known as ‘Fakhruddin Baburchi’ (Baburchi is the Bengali synonym for chef). He started serving sandwiches for students at Viqarunnisa Noon School (a renowned girls’ school in Dhaka) in the mid-eighties and eventually became famous for his excellent Biryani recipes. Soon his recipes become a pinnacle and today he has become a symbol of the top crust to entertain guests of any function with Fakhruddin’s Biryani. The famous chef died in 1997, but his children still serve his recipe at 3 exclusive outlets in Dhaka City, located respectively in Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Uttara. Although Fakhruddin restaurants are famous for their Kachhi Biryani, they also serve first-class Chicken Biryani and Borhani (a kind of yogurt drink).
Haji’s Biryani is another name that shines when you think of Dhaka’s Biryani. It was established by Haji Ahmed Ali (Haji is not part of his family title, it is used to show that he has performed the Hajj) way back in 1939 at Monir Hossain Lane in Narinda, Wari. Today the main restaurant is located on Kazi Alauddin Road, Nazira Bazar. Haji’s Biryani is unique in that it is served dry (most Biryani are cooked with a lot of oil). Another interesting fact about this restaurant is that it starts serving after Asr prayer and is mostly sold out by Isha prayer. “The restaurant stays so crowded during business hours that most people have to wait at least 15-20 minutes before getting an empty seat,” said Haji Md. Sahed Hossain, the current owner of Haji’s Biryani and second son. lately. Haji Ahmed Ali. He also added: “Due to huge public demand, we recently opened our first branch in Progoti Sharani.”
Another prominent name in the Biryani world of Dhaka is Biryani from “Nanna Miah”. Situated on Nazimuddin Street in Old Dhaka (next to Dhaka Central Prison), Biryani “Nanna Miah” is famous for the unique preparation of ‘Chicken Kachhi’. Here only chicken is used for Biryani. They have two recipes: ‘Chicken Kachhi’ and ‘Chicken Pakki’. “I come to old Dhaka at least once a month for two things: Nanna’s Biryani and Beauty Sharbat (a kind of drink). I will miss them more than anything once I settle abroad,” Porag said, a young man of 24 years. man who will soon emigrate to Canada.
Star Restaurant is another landmark for serving delicious Biryani. The main branch of the restaurant is located on BCRoy Road in Alu Bajar, Sutrapur, which was established almost 45 years ago. But he gained enormous fame when they launched their own five-story restaurant in Dhanmondi, the heart of the city. “This is the largest restaurant in the country serving deshi food and we sell around 8,000 Biryani dishes every day,” said Sheikh Mizan, Star Restaurant floor manager.
Apart from the above mentioned, there are several other restaurants that also serve various Biryani dishes with their own special flavor. Dolma House of Motijheel is famous for its ‘Dolma Biryani’, prepared with both meat and vegetables. Karai Gosto, a restaurant in Dhanmondi, serves their exclusive ‘Motor Biryani’, which uses beans along with their reference menu called ‘Karai Gosto’. Also, there are few restaurants in Dhaka that serve Indian Biryani with the local flavor. Dhaaba, an Indian food shop, serves ‘Hyderabadi Dum Biryani’ which is cooked in the ‘Kachhi’ style. Voot, another upscale restaurant in Dhaka, has their special ‘Maharani Biryani’ which is cooked in the South Indian flavor and uses a lot of spices. There is also a small restaurant in the city of Lalmatia called ‘Swaad Tehari Ghar’ which is very famous for its Tehari, a variant of Biryani. Tehari is cooked with less oil and is therefore drier than biryani and mainly beef is used for the meat. Interestingly, in India, Tehari refers to the vegetarian version of Biryani.
There is a great selection of foods in Dhaka that are tasty, delicious, and made with local flavor. But not many of them are famous all over the world. Biryani of Dhaka is one of those few that has earned the love of foodies around the world. According to Google Insight (Google’s keyword tracking service), Biryani is the most searched recipe when it comes to Bangladeshi food. If anyone visits Dhaka, they should be prepared to have at least one hearty meal of Biryani with its sweet spicy aroma.