A Guide to Biryani: What to Look For

Biryani is the most ordered dish on almost every Pakistani menu, and the most frequently done badly. The difference is visible before you taste it.

Look at the rice

In a properly made biryani, the grains are separate, long, and unevenly coloured — some white, some stained yellow or orange, some deep brown from the fried onion. That unevenness is the point. It means the rice was layered and steamed rather than stirred.

Uniformly coloured rice means everything was mixed together in one pot. It can still taste fine. It is not biryani.

Look for the layers

Dig to the bottom of the dish. There should be more gravy and more meat below, and drier, more aromatic rice above. A good biryani changes as you eat down through it.

The accompaniments matter

Raita is not optional. The yoghurt cools the spice and adds acidity, and the traditional pairing exists because biryani is rich enough to need it. A salad of raw onion and lemon does the same job from a different direction.

Chicken or mutton

Chicken biryani is lighter and quicker to cook. Mutton biryani takes longer, and the fat from the bone enriches the rice around it in a way chicken cannot. If you are ordering for a group and only trying one, order the mutton.