The Spruce Eats: What Is Biryani? Biryani is a layered Indian dish that includes rice and either lamb, chicken, or fish, and vegetables, along with spices like saffron in a biryani recipe gravy. Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country’s regional cuisines.

There is much debate of how this dish came to be, but most agree that its origins began in Persia as a rustic rice-and-meat dish and then traveled to India. The various recipes of biryani were then born, mainly where there was culinary influence from Muslim foods, particularly in the city of Hyderabad in south India, but also along the southern coast. Biryani’s many, many variations depend on where the dish is based. The main components of this dish are rice, meat, marinade, and spices. Basmati rice is definitely prevalent, but you will also find other grains such as seeraga samba and jeerakasala. The meat is usually marinated before being cooked, and the most common marinade is yogurt-spiced based as the acid in the yogurt helps to tenderize the meat. There are several main types of biryani that are specific to certain communities.