By Bhavana Verma
June 13, 2024
Despite both being rice dishes, there are several differences between biryani and pulao. The difference is not only in the names and presentations, but also in the origin, ingredients, and making process.
Biryani originated in India during the Mughal era whereas pulao originates in the Middle East and central Asia and was introduced to India much earlier than biryani.
Biryani is prepared using “dum” method where rice and sauce are layered for cooking, whereas pulao is a one-pot dish where rice and ingredients are cooked together in broth.
Biryani uses a variety of royal spices like saffron and cardamom and includes yoghurt-marinated meat, whereas pulao is a simple dish with basic aromatics.
Biryani typically uses long, aromatic basmati rice and sometimes short variants like kaima or jeerakasala. Pulao uses long-grain white rice.
With basmati rice, layering of rice and sauce, and marination of ingredients, basmati tends to have a more concentrated flavour than pulao.
Even when making vegetable biryani, the layering process distinguishes biryani from the traditional one-pot pulao and both dishes have some striking differences in taste.
With layers and different colours of rice, biryani looks more appealing as compared to classic pulao. Pulao is much preferred for those who want to keep it straightforward.