Not having a curry ever again !

[andya700]

There is no "curry" in Biryani.
The "main taste" is cardamom & cumin
Save for the separate side order that its always served with.
There are plenty of variations on a theme.
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/534257

But it might be a "get out" next time the Mrs badgers you in to having / getting one

Nice to see a Madhur Jaffrey recipe again.
I like my food quite spicy and hot, so I make a "nuclear" biryani to suit my taste.

 

[MartynK]

There is no "curry" in Biryani.
The "main taste" is cardamom & cumin
Save for the separate side order that its always served with.
There are plenty of variations on a theme.
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/534257
B

Debatable. Biryani isn't 'curry' in the usually accepted sense in this country, but there are any number of recipes and many of them use the same spices as curry dishes. It's a style/way of cooking, rather than a dish. Traditionally, biryani is cooked by steam in a clay pot, sealed with a flour and water paste, by the 'dum' method. This is fun to experiment with, and is a bit different if you have guests, but I don't know if it really makes any difference.

The great thing about most Indian dishes is that you can play with the spicing and adjust it to suit yourself. Most Indian cooks do this too. One thing I found in India, even in the south, is that there isn't quite the same love affair with blazing heat that many Brits seem to like!

 

[Cobra]

I like my food quite spicy and hot, so I make a "nuclear" biryani to suit my taste.

Oh no, it has to be mild one for me.
TBH years ago I would love a "hot anything" Chilli curry et al.
I guess my tastes have just matured

. It's a style/way of cooking, rather than a dish. Traditionally, biryani is cooked by steam in a clay pot, sealed with a flour and water paste, by the 'dum' method.

And again, today I've learned something new

 

[andya700]

Debatable. Biryani isn't 'curry' in the usually accepted sense in this country, but there are any number of recipes and many of them use the same spices as curry dishes. It's a style/way of cooking, rather than a dish. Traditionally, biryani is cooked by steam in a clay pot, sealed with a flour and water paste, by the 'dum' method. This is fun to experiment with, and is a bit different if you have guests, but I don't know if it really makes any difference.

The great thing about most Indian dishes is that you can play with the spicing and adjust it to suit yourself. Most Indian cooks do this too. One thing I found in India, even in the south, is that there isn't quite the same love affair with blazing heat that many Brits seem to like!

In Persian cooking, you have various Pullou (rice) dishes which if prepared in the traditional method, use the same clay pot with a flour/water paste seal - "damkoni" (similar to "dum"). It is supposed to cook the rice in such a way, that the grains seperate instead of sticking together, resulting in a light, fluffy rice. Nowadays the cooks wrap a tea towel around the saucepan lid so that it creates a tight seal - however I reckon if the tea towel comes undone, then you have a potential fire risk, so I just use a saucepan lid on its own and the rice has turned out well enough.

http://figandquince.com/2013/06/18/persian-rice-tools-techniques-know-how-prelim/

In the North of Iran the food is not very spicy, but they use herbs a lot. In the hot South of Iran however, I am led to believe that the food can be very hot and spicy indeed.