I first experienced Biryani in 1995, the love of 22 years and counting. My proclivity has lasted and lasted quite possibly the test of time who knows?
You know, coming to think of it, if someone didn't know better, they would swear I was talking about a girl.
I was only 7 at the time and god only knows, he really does, what on heavenly earth possessed me to try something so decadently delicious yet oh so incredibly and unbelievably wonderfully spicy? My Mum recollects I was sweating all over, my nose was streaming and my eyes were watering, yet I continued eating till I was done, and, not only that, I asked for more which only delighted my sister in law's mother.
First off, I love basmati rice, it's incredibly fluffy, flavorful and delightfully aromatic. If it's possible, I would eat this rice for lunch every day of my life. (of course the rice being one of the side dishes). Secondly, I love the mixture of spices that comes with the seasoning pack (that can easily be bought from a supermarket in Trinidad and Tobago, but I suspect that one may have to travel to the nearest Indian store to get it). I also believe that one can make the spices from scratch, (I may have to do some more research on that). Finally, when you smoosh the two together, you get orgasmic explosions of flavor in your mouth.
Here's the brand of spice mix, and how the final product is supposed to look, (of course it's staged for the photograph on the box).
As you can see below, the box with the spics got slightly squished during the making process.
So, now, some history on Biryani, Biryani (pronounced [bɪr.jaːniː]), also known as biriyani or biriani, is a South Asian mixed rice dish with its origins among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. There are an extremely wide variety of Biryani dishes (makes me feel I should put each variety on my Bucket List, to tick off in life as I've really should work my way through each one).
- Tahari, Tehri or Tehari are variants on the name given to the vegetarian version of biryani.
- Beef biryani, as the name implies, uses beef as meat. In Hyderabad, it is famous as Kalyani biryani, in which beef (buffalo meat) is used.
- The Delhi version of the biryani developed with a unique local flavour as the Mughal kings shifted their political capital to the North Indian city of Delhi.
- The exotic and aromatic Sindhi biryani is known in Pakistan for its spicy taste, fragrant rice and delicate meat.
- Hyderabadi biryani is made with basmati rice, spices and chicken.
- Malabar biryani, is the only variation of biryani found in the Indian state of Kerala.
- The Calcutta biryani is much lighter on spices and sometimes contains meat.
- The Ambur/Vaniyambadi biryani is accompanied with 'dhalcha', a sour brinjal curry and 'pachadi' or raitha, which is sliced onions mixed with plain curd, tomato, chillies and salt.
- Chettinad biryani is famous in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is made of jeeraka samba rice, smells of spices and ghee. It is best taken with nenju elambu kuzhambu, a spicy and tangy mutton gravy.
- In Bhatkali biryani the meat is cooked in an onion and green chilli based masala and layered with fragrant rice.
- Memoni biryani is made with lamb, yogurt, fried onions, and potatoes, and fewer tomatoes compared to Sindhi biryani.
- The Dindigul town of Tamil Nadu is noted for its biryani, which uses a little curd and lemon juice to get a tangy taste.
- The Bohri biryani, prepared by the Bohris is flavoured with a lot of tomatoes.
- Kalyani biryani is a typical biryani from Hyderabad and is always made from small cubes of buffalo meat.
- Biryan traces its origins to the same source as biryani, and is today sold in Afghanistan as well as in Bhopal, India. Biryan is prepared by cooking gosht and rice together, but without the additional gravy and other condiments that are used in biryani.
- In Myanmar (Burma), biryani is known in Burmese as danpauk or danbauk, from Persian dum pukht.
- One form of "Arabic" biryani is the Iraqi preparations, where the rice is usually saffron-based with chicken usually being the meat or poultry of choice.
- Iran - a dish called Berian is made with lamb or chicken, marinated overnight – with yogurt, herbs, spices, dried fruits like raisins, prunes or pomegranate seeds – and later cooked in a tannour oven.
- Nasi kebuli is an Indonesian spicy steamed rice dish cooked in goat broth, milk and ghee. Nasi kebuli is descended from Kabuli Palaw which is an Afghani rice dish, similar to biryani served in South Asia.
If that list of different types of biryani across the world doesn't make you hungry I don't know what will. Just reading these amazing sounding words that I don't know how to pronounce nor have any idea what they are, but I suspect they will be all mind-blowingly great tasting food. Time for trusty old Google to assist here.
Yes - I loveee spicy food, not peppery mind you, but spicy.
From the list above, I suspect over the years I've only ever had the privilege of trying three or four variations of Biryani, guess I'll have to do a world tour to try them all. Sounds expensive to please one's stomach huh?
Here's one of the recipe versions of Biryani, conveniently stuck to the back of the box with every spice pack, this is the one I had today. I know, I know, it looks slightly different to what the box cover looks like, but that's all down to what additional seasoning you put in the food, as well as the type of meat you use. Today's meat was lamb. My favorite. Did this taste good or what??
One final thing, that's buried in the last sentence of the recipe, something called Raita, as Wikipedia so easily puts it - Raita is a common name of a condiment from the Indian subcontinent, made with yogurt together with raw or cooked vegetables, more seldom fruit, or in the case of boondi raita, with fried droplets of batter made from chickpea flour. The closest approximation in western cuisine is a side dish or dip, or a cooked salad. It is often referred to as a condiment, but unlike traditional western condiments like salt, pepper, mustard and horseradish that made dishes more spicy, a dish of dahi or raita has a cooling effect to contrast with spicy curries and kebabs that are the main fare of some Asian cuisines.
Now then, Raita has I've highlighted above, has a cooling effect, it's like an absolute must for people to have this side dish, as the spices for the biryani can be too much for a first timer, especially one who has not grown up on such spicy food. Today's Raita, was just Yogurt though, and it did not diminish from the overall pleasure of today's lunch. The only thing that was missing was some greenery which the Raita would have. I however got that greenery in the form of a salad in a separate dish.
Final dish from the oven, looks sooooo good! I'm hungry again. It's a good thing it has enough for about 5 more servings.
Serving on my plate with Yogurt generously spread around. Now I generally dislike having Yogurt straight up (i.e. plain), but it has such a brilliant effect on eating Biryani, I suck up all my dislike and just bask in the pleasure of eating the biryani.
Biryani is such a must for a Foodie, as it is not only a complete meal by itself, it lends itself to the experience of centuries of perfecting the dish that it is known as today. However, it must be said that, if any part of the entire dish is skimped on or under-cooked, the entire cultural affair would be diminished, therefore, it is a must that your first time having Biryani to be cooked by someone (or a restaurant which is fine as well) who knows that they're doing.
Talking about Biryani so much has made me hungry for more, I'm off to gorge myself on some more Lamb Biryani till I'm in a food coma. Yay! Best feeling ever.
Ah yes, Pakistan vs India, not my choice of the Champions Trophy final 2017 to be honest. My favored team since April 2007 has been Australia, but since Australia was unfortunately knocked out due to a loss and two rain affected draws, I have to make a choice of the team that I want to support. As a result, I'm backing Pakistan to win this final. However unfortunate that Preity Zinta is backing India to win. (Tears up)
Generally since I started avidly following cricket in December 1996, I have watched every single major cricket cup final and today - Sunday 18th June, 2017 is no different. I'm uncertain as to why England chose The Oval as the place for the final though, I would've thought Lord's cricket ground would've been the sure bet. Possibly there's the reason buried in an article somewhere on the internet or on ESPN Cricinfo.
India wins toss and opts to field first. Good choice for chasers? Maybe, quite literally time will tell. Mohammed Amir is back to play for Pakistan. Good signs so far for Pakistan.
Pakistan - overs one to ten (56/0)
Pakistani openers Azhar and Fakhar survived early jitters and mistakes by India. Over 3.1 - Bumrah bowls a no-ball and Fakhar lives to bat on for a while. Imagine, Pakistan could've been 7/1. Not to mention the edges missing fielders, missed run-out opportunities. Gosh, the nerves from the players. Over 7.5 - Azhar runs down the wicket to Ashwin and smacks a six, didn't seem that convincing that it would make it over the boundary. But nevertheless the first six of the innings and the match (sign of things to come?).
Pakistani innings - Overs 11 - 20 (114/0)
Over 10.3 - Classy shot of the day, straight drive from Fakhar off of Bumrah for four runs. Possibly the first sure shot of the day. Beautiful. Intriguingly there has been very little purchase (turn) for the Indian spinners thus far. This is possibly the first sign that India made a mistake in bowling first. The Pakistani spinners are likely to get more spin in the second innings on a slightly worn pitch.
Over 14.6 - Cut shot in the air by Azhar, phew good thing that missed all the fielders. Quite a few times in the tournament, those shots have gone to hand. In the sixteenth over Jadeja came on to bowl for the first time, and this may be the acid test for the Pakistani batting.
Over 16.4 - very shaky airy shot by Azhar and this lands out of the reach of the cover fielder. Why are the nerves still there? Thoughts - this may be the easiest blog post that I've ever done so far, as it literally writes itself. I wonder how this will turn out a piece when it's all said and done? First record down, this is the best opening stand by Pakistan vs India in ICC tournaments. Previous best was a lowly 84. More good omens for a Pakistan win?
Over 17.6 - Excellent use of the feet from Fakhar to smack a boundary from Jadeja into the mid-wicket boundary, those dancing shoes as Danny Morrison would say. 100 up after 18 overs, surprising signs so far.
Over 19.5 - First fifty of the game from Azhar - well done sir. Good going so far by Pakistan.
Over 20 - Another sloppy mistake by an Indian fielder, and donates four runs to the Pakistani cause and fifty to Fakhar, sounds like an essay I would write so far. Intriguing times. Quiet and even innings so far, 58 runs in this 10 over block.
A shout-out to the magnificent spell of 5 overs for ten runs from Kumar. Stands alone in poor bowling from everyone else.
Pakistani innings - Overs 21 - 30 (179/1)
Over 22.6 - Ah yes, Azhar gets run out in an atrocious bit of calling for a run between the wickets. And this, of course stupidly happens the ball after a close run-out opportunity the previous ball. Partnership broken at 128, stuff to make your blood pressure rise in anger. Boy, is Azhar vex or what! Opens up the game for India to get a sniff to smother the Pakistani batting. Come-on, only uphill from here!
Over 25.1 - Brilliant six by Fakhar off of Jadeja, what a shot! Down the pitch and hits is extremely well over Long - on into the crowd. Positive start to the second wicket partnership. In just his fourth international match for Pakistan, he's playing like a seasoned cricketer. Over 26 - 16 glorious runs off of Jadeja, biggest over of the innings. Keeping up that run rate.
Over 26.2 - Magnificent six by Fakhar off of Ashwin over the Long-off boundary, not the most eye-catching purest technique of sixes, but once it lands over the boundary, who cares? How long can Fakhar last for? Over 27 - 17 runs off of the over from Ashwin, gosh, when did this become a Twenty 20 match? 33 runs in two overs, ridiculous, but I love it.
65 runs off of these last ten overs, a very middling result, considering there was 33 runs off of two over, meaning there was 32 off of 8 overs, strange times. As we move into the last twenty overs, the general accepted method is to multiply the score by 2 to get the final 50 over score. Current projected score - an amazing 358, how close can Pakistan get to that?
Pakistani innings - Overs 31 - 40 (247/3)
Over 30.1 - sweep shot for four by Fakhar, and a brilliant and sensational maiden one day international hundred, not entirely chance-less, but memorable for Fakhar, in an ICC final, stepping up to perform!
Over 32.1 - smashed six by Fakhar off of Ashwin over the mid-wicket boundary, very assured shot, he's getting more and more comfortable with his innings, Babar has to get a move on, 10 from 21 is pitiful start to his innings.
Over 32.5 - 200 up for Pakistan! Who would've thought this would've happened at this stage? Who?
Over 33.1 - Heartbreak for Fakhar, swirling shot in the air in the point region and he has to walk back after an awesome century, couldn't he have gone on for more? What next for Pakistan? Brilliant running catch by Jadeja though, appreciated by the massive Indian contingent at The Oval.
Over 36.4 - good use of his feet and good six by Malik off of Jadeja - Jadeja has sure been expensive today - 7 overs for 57 runs, unusual for him. 27 runs from 3.5 overs partnership so far, good recovery from the loss of Fakhar who was doing the bulk of the scoring. Babar had 13 (26) before his acceleration, he has scored 26 from 16 balls since, he has done well in taking over from Fakhar in keeping the run-rate up.
Over 39.4 - oh Malik, what have you done? What stupidity? What insanity? Why did you think a falling away swish of a shot over covers to be a good idea? And off Malik goes with an unfulfilled innings of 12. Kumar bags a wicket to leave his figures at a scarcely unbelievable 6 overs 1 for 11.
Another okay-ish ten over section of the innings, 68 runs, not the kind of acceleration that I would've hoped for.
Pakistani innings - Overs 41 - 50 (338-4)
Over 42.3 - Oye vey, OYE VEY! Babar falls trying for a bit shot which ends up as a skier to Long-off. Not finishing well at all, 31/2 from the last five. Pakistan might struggle to finish over 300 if they're not careful. And why is Imad in the wicket? Why is Safraz hiding himself? I thought Safraz is a better striker of the ball than Imad?
Over 44.2 - straight hit by Hafeez for six from Jadhav, jusssssssssssst over a leaping Pandya on the boundary. Heart-stopping stuff.
Over 44.4 - straight hit by Imad for six from Jadhav, prove me wrong that it made sense for your captain to send you out to bat.
Over 45.2 - special six over the mid-wicket boundary by Hafeez from Kumar, just like Ricky Ponting in his prime. Wonderful stuff.
Four overs to go, they sky is the limit for Pakistan. Advantage Pakistan so far. Getting up there with a score that is match winnable. 329/6 has been Pakistan's highest score that they have made against India in their entire history and won.
Over 48.2 - As brilliantly described by ESPN Cricinfo's commentary, Bumrah to Mohammad Hafeez, no run, round the wicket, brilliant yorker from Bumrah, through Hafeez off bat and pad, into the stumps... but the bails stay on! That has smashed into the base of off stump, the bail jumped - although didn't light up - then landed back in its groove!
Over 49.3 - A tennis smash for six by Hafeez from Kumar, straight down the ground, wonderful! Intriguingly if he left if, it would've been wide.
91 runs from the last ten overs, perfect end to the innings, manic 57 from 37 balls by Hafeez, the question now, is it enough?
An innings littered with 27 fours and studded with 9 sixes, an innings that promised to be so much more, but 159 runs from the last 20 overs of the innings ended it well enough.
Indian will have to chase the highest ever score to win against Pakistan, the highest ever score to win at The Oval in England. Promising signs for Pakistan to win the trophy.
Indian innings - Overs 1 - 10 (47/3)
Over 0.3 - Wicket! Amir got Rohit! L.B.W.! Spectacular start to the innings. Excitement in the air!
Over 2.3 - a regulation outside edge dropped at first slip by Azhar, boy is Amir mad. Hope he doesn't regret that drop. Horrible form, and looked silly dropping it.
Over 2.4 - redemption time for Amir! A leading outside edge snaffled by Shadab at point. Amazing start! Pakistan can breathe again, silence in the ground. Kohli is out and Pakistan is two steps closer to a win!
Over 8.6 - Amir again! Dawan caught behind! Seven more to go, countdown is on! Great final so far. Yes. Of course I am biased towards Pakistan for this blog post.
An extremely poor over from Hafeez conceding 13 runs to end the first ten overs block. Still open for either team, this may go all the way down to the fiftieth over. Fingers crossed it doesn't.
Indian innings - Overs 11 - 20 (93/6)
Over 12.6 - Shadab strikes! First time a wrist spinner comes on to bowl for the game and he gets a wicket the very first over he bowled. Thank goodness Safraz was inspired to take the review! Interesting twist for Yuvraj to be out at this stage.
Over 13.3 - Dhoni plays a weak pull shot off of Hasan and is caught half-way to the mid-wicket boundary! Five wickets out! Looks closer and closer to be Pakistan's game in the bag! 54/5 (13.3) Required run rate of 7.80, looks out of reach at this stage, 285 runs left.
Over 16.6 - Straight up in the air by Jadhav, and caught by Safraz who shooed away all the other fielders! Another wicket for Shadab! Nearly there Pakistan! So very close! The emotion on those faces!
Over 18.3 - First six of the innings from Pandya, worth a mention at this point.
46 runs and three wickets, India struggling for dear life at the 20 over mark. When will it end?
Indian innings - Overs 21 - 30 (158/9)
Over 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 - Three sixes by Pandya from Shadab, last gasp attempt for normality by India? Clean hitting, and brings up a fast half century, 54 from 32 overs. What a stand alone innings. 23 runs from the 23rd over, biggest over of the match, impressive stuff.
Over 26 - Dear god, is Hardik Pandya doing it all by himself? 76 from 43 balls, 4 fours and 6 sixes!
Over 26.3 - Bad mix-up and Pandya is run-out! Wow! Look at how vex he is, must be cursing all the way off the field. He's fuming all the way off the field.
Over 27.3 - Short, wide, edged, and out goes Jadeja, 2 more wickets, only a matter of time now! I'm excited, can't you tell?
Over 28.1 - Wicket!!!!! Yessss!!! One more to go. Ashwin caught behind. So very close now.
65 runs, 3 wickets again, Pakistan is teasing this game out for the crowds and the viewers.
Indian innings - Overs 31 - 40
Over 30.3 - Pakistan has won!
To be ranked eighth in the world and win a world tournament? That's the gloriously spectacular unpredictability of the Pakistani cricket team! A wonderful end to a slightly rain marred tournament, and a great advertisement for cricket on the whole.
Congratulations to Team Pakistan!
