Biryani Vs. Pulao, What Are The Differences Anyway?

Any special occasion is incomplete without including at least one rice-based dish. Biryani is one of the most popular dishes in India and comes in various forms and flavours. There are regional and cultural interpretations of biryani that have given rise to many flavours of biryani recipes throughout the country. It is a one-pot dish and is associated with aromatic rice, mixed with meat and a lot of spices. It is also available in a vegetarian version in which meat is replaced by vegetables and cottage cheese.

Also Read: Hyderabadi Biryani vs Lucknawi Biryani - What’s The Difference?

Pulao on the other hand is another dish that is made by mixing rice with vegetables and spices. For the longest time, there has been a debate among food enthusiasts about the relevance of vegetarian biryani and not calling it a pulao. Many people believe that there is no such thing as a vegetarian biryani and that it should rather be called Pulao. Today we will discuss the basic difference between these two famous dishes in India and view the cultural landscape for a better understanding of distinguishing between these two. 

Origin Of Biryani

It is hard to trace the origin of biryani as biryani as we know today is a concoction of flavours and cooking methods borrowed from different regions of the country. It is safe to say that Biryani is an outcome of the flavourful camaraderie between India and Persia. Many theories also suggest that initially biryani was introduced as an easy meal to cook for large armies or workforces.

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Biryani is like a simple assortment of various ingredients like meat, vegetables, spices and rice that are put together in a single pot and left to cook by itself for a longer period. It doesn't require the consistent attention of the cook and can be left unattended for a long time. Biryani is derived from the Persian word ‘birian’ which means fried before cooking. It is very easy to understand what the dish is about if you know the meaning of the word. 

Biryani is cooked by following the process of dum pukht or slow cooking method. It is a very simple process and not very labour-intensive. It is safe to say that biryani was a rather laid-back recipe that was used by cooks to avoid long and intensive cooking processes. Eventually, it was found out that biryani was loved by everyone and that led to the rise of its popularity.

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Pulao

Pulao on the other hand is believed to have originated even before the invention of biryani. Even a lot of food historians see that biryani is an evolved version of pulao and was inspired by the recipe of pulao itself. It is believed that pulao originated in India and one can find a lot of traces of this dish in ancient Indian texts. There is also a huge set of people who believe that pulao was invented by Spanish or Persian people. For those of you what pulao is, it is a dish that is made by using a stock of spices along with vegetables or meat and of course rice. It is not as spicy as biryanis and quite dry in texture.

The cooking method for pulao is also a lot simpler than Biryani. One of the most classic recipes to cook a pulao is yakhni pulao which is cooked with some mutton stock and a handful of spices. There are also a lot of simple versions of pulao such as tehri which is a mixture of a lot of vegetables and rice along with subtle flavours of spices. 

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Layering And Spices

If you have to understand the difference between Palao and Biryani, then one of the easiest ways is to look at the learning process. It is correct to say that biryani is a little more complex than Pulao when it comes to the cooking technique. You have to follow particular steps to make the most perfect biryani. Also, the use of aromatic spices and herbs along with buttered onions is very important. In a lot of instances, tomatoes are also used to give that sour taste to biryani. Also making a perfect biryani is about accessing your layering game. You have to be extremely precise while layering with all the ingredients in your body. Very often biryanis are prepared by initially just partially cooking rice or even leaving them raw. It is then mixed with other ingredients and layered after which it is properly cooked.

Pulao on the other hand is not a layered dish and very often broth is required to cook the rice. It is a rather simple recipe that can be prepared by adding everything at once and requires fewer spices and herbs as compared to biryani. You do not have to follow multiple steps and unlike biryani, your pulao gets prepared instantly. Rice in a pulao is cooked by the absorption method.

We hope that you have been able to understand the difference between biryani and pulao. Remember the next time you see a vegetarian biryani on the menu, don't mistake it as a vegetarian pulao.