Making Biryani Is Harder Than Fried Rice

 
The story of the biryani is somewhat debatable. Some say that it's an Iranian dish due to the fact it's coming from the word "biryan" which means fried or grilled. It was said to have come from the Mughals though it might be much older. History has proven India became part of the Persian Empire during 550 B.C. Centuries later, India became part of the Mughal Empire in the 1500s. Now, it's time to think that maybe, calling Biryani as Middle Eastern or Indian friend rice may not be the right term for it. 

I found this interesting article from India Today called "What's the difference between biryani, pulao and fried rice?" Fried rice is very common in Chinese cooking. Pulao seems to be the Indian dish or a Chinese version of friend rice. Again, both China and India are quite close so getting this and that isn't anything unusual. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if gulab janum and soanpapadi are both Chinese-inspired since they seem to be. Indian dishes using tofu is quite common too. 

So, what vital differences can be seen? It turns out biryani is prepared in layers and cooked on low flame for hours. It's quite different than pulao which is cooked on medium to high flame and fried rice on high flame. That would explain why some Indian restaurants feature fried rice and biryani. They may be similar but they're different. Biryanis will always be more expensive because the process is rather more tedious. Then we end up a Chinese biryani because of cross-cultural exchange. 

Hope that helps!