Sometimes it’s greasy and sometimes it’s dry. But it’s always spicy. It is a dish filled with long grain rice that does not stick and contains a succulent piece of meat inside. It is pleasantly aromatic, but not too strong. The delicious aroma of the spices and the delicious sight of the dish make your mouth water. And when you taste it, the subtle taste and flavor of spices come through gently 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 famous traditional Indian cuisine in the world, 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. which clearly represents the different preparation for the different states of India. But Dhaka Biryani mainly has 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 Dhaka Biryani recipes use Bangladeshi ‘Kali-Jira’ rice, a very fine Polish rice that is produced only in the northern districts like Dinajpur.
Biryani is derived from a Persian word ‘beryan’ meaning ‘fried’ or ‘roasted’. Biryani is believed to have been brought to the Indian subcontinent by Muslim travelers and Arab traders. However, there is also another saying about the origin of Biryani. In times of war during the Mughal period, soldiers were provided with a one item meal. Rice and meat were cooked together and served. Later, the recipe was more formally introduced at the royal dinner and eventually became immensely popular throughout the rice-eating community in the Indian subcontinent.
There are numerous fast food restaurants all over 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 holds 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 we never have enough!” said by Sabbir Iqbal, a 29-year-old executive who works with Banglalink.
Biryani is so popular in this part of the world that a wedding or any other ceremony will almost certainly have Biryani on its menu. “I got married almost 34 years ago. At that time, Dhaka was not the Dhaka of today. Things have changed a lot since then. But few things remain the same as decades before. My wedding receptions menu had Biryani then and still have today.My youngest daughter is about to get married next January and surely Biryani is going to be served as a main dish.We ‘Dhakaiya’ (residents of old Dhaka living there for many years) people cannot think about our celebrations without plates full of delicious Biryani,” Fazley Noman, a 60-year-old retiree who has lived on Rankin Street, Wari since he was born, said proudly.
Although Biryani is counted as the heritage food of old Dhaka, there are also a number of food shops around the new city serving 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 from Malancha or Khushbu restaurant is our first preference”, is the Nusrat statement. Khandker, a 21-year-old student at the University of Dhaka. Dhaka Biryani is not only available in Dhaka. It has spread through hundreds of subcontinental restaurants in many major cities around the world. Nishat Afza, a 34-year-old NRB who lives in London and is currently visiting her homeland, mentioned, “We go out to eat from time to time and often end up visiting the famous Dhaka Biryani House located on Mile End Road to try from Bangladesh”.
Whenever Dhaka Biryani is mentioned, the first name that comes up is Fakhruddin Biryani. The dish is named after the late famous chef Mohammad Farkhruddin, better known as ‘Fakhruddin Baburchi’ (Baburchi is the Bengali synonym for chef). He began serving snacks to students at Viqarunnisa Noon School (a renowned girls’ school in Dhaka) in the mid-1980s and eventually became famous for his excellent biryani recipes. Soon his recipes became a pinnacle and today it has become a symbol of high society to entertain the guests of any function with Fakhruddin’s Biryani. The famous chef died in 1997, but his children still serve his recipe in 3 exclusive outlets in Dhaka city, located respectively in Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Uttara. Although Fakhruddin’s restaurants are famous for their Kachhi Biryani, they also serve top-class Chicken Biryani and Borhani (a kind of yogurt drink).
Haji Biryani is another name that shines when you think of Dhaka 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 Hajj) 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 in 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 to 20 minutes before getting an empty seat,” said Haji Md. Sahed Hossain, current owner of Haji’s Biryani and second son of the late 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 “Nanna Miah” Biryani. Located on Nazimuddin Road in old Dhaka (next to Dhaka Central Prison), “Nanna Miah” Biryani is famous for the unique ‘Chicken Kachhi’ preparation. Here only chicken is used for Biryani. They have two recipes: ‘Kachhi Chicken’ and ‘Pakki Chicken’. “I come to old Dhaka at least once a month for two things: Nanna’s Biryani and Beauty’s Sharbat (a kind of drink). I will miss them more than anything once I settle abroad,” said Porag, a 24-year-old . man who is migrating to Canada soon.
Star Restaurant is another reference point for serving delicious Biryani. The main branch of the restaurant is located at BCRoy Road in Alu Bajar, Sutrapur which was established almost 45 years ago. But he gained enormous fame when they opened 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 about 8,000 Biryani plates every day,” said Sheikh Mizan, floor manager of Star restaurant.
Apart from those mentioned above, 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 meat and vegetables. Karai Gosto, a restaurant in Dhanmondi serves their signature ‘Motor Biryani’, which uses beans along with their signature menu called ‘Karai Gosto’. Also, there are few restaurants in Dhaka that serve Indian Biryani with the local flavor. Dhaaba, an Indian food store, serves ‘Hyderabadi Dum Biryani’ which is cooked ‘Kachhi’ style. Voot, another upmarket restaurant in Dhaka, has their special ‘Maharani Biryani’ which is cooked with South Indian flavor and uses lots of spices. There is also a small restaurant in Lalmatia of the city 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 uses mostly beef for the meat. Interestingly, in India, Tehari refers to the vegetarian version of Biryani.
There is a huge selection of food in Dhaka that is tasty, delicious and made with local flavour. But not many of them are famous all over the world. Dhaka Biryani is one of those few that have won the love of foodies all over 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 and spicy aroma.