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‘Biryani with or without potatoes?’ Twitter users bring the house down with their responses to poll

Biryani with or without aloo?

  • Total voters
    68
Zahid87 said:
Potatoes only came to the SC in the 17th century....and that was only along the areas under Portuguese influence (i.e western coast). Biryani was being cooked and prepared way before that...so its safe to say that originally no aloo involved.


But...i guess the same argument can be made for tomatoes and chilis too, which are now staples of North Indian/Pakistani cooking.
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But here's one interesting thing, if Potatoes were brought by the Portuguese, the western coast areas, especially Kerala (malabar - WHich had the 1st Portuguese contact) and the Konkan (mumbai, goa, karnataka) areas, (which have significant muslim population) never used "Aloos" in the Biryani (malabar Biryani, Hyderabadi, Donne styles etc) . Though we use them in a lot of other foods.

But w.r.t Chillis and tomatoes, what you said holds true.
 
kaayal said:
Paragon restaurant in Kozhikode offers the best biriyani that i have tried outside. But their signature dish is Appam and fish mango curry. That's too good......
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Paragon's original branch in Calicut city is great. But their Kochi branch isn't that good. I have heard about "Paris Hotel" in Thalassery having one of the best Biriyanis. Also the "Kayees" biriyani in Fort Kochi is also supposed to be awesome.
 
If its a mutton or lamb based biryani then I would prefer aloos with it. If its chicken/shrimp then my answer would be no.

When I first started cooking Mutton Biryani I would add potatoes. My Bangladeshi housemates started requesting me to add a boiled egg. They told me that it is quite common in their country to add a boiled egg.
Initially I was quite sceptical , but now I have adopted it as I have embraced this culture.
 
imrankhannsu said:
If its a mutton or lamb based biryani then I would prefer aloos with it. If its chicken/shrimp then my answer would be no.

When I first started cooking Mutton Biryani I would add potatoes. My Bangladeshi housemates started requesting me to add a boiled egg. They told me that it is quite common in their country to add a boiled egg.
Initially I was quite sceptical , but now I have adopted it as I have embraced this culture.
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Wow, so Bangladeshis add eggs and Bengalis add potatoes ? Why the discrepancy [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] ?
 
SandyB said:
These are the main Biriyani's we have in our Southernmost state of Kerala, the main cultural contribution of the Moplahs (apart from the pretty women) :

1. Malabar Konju/Prawn Biriyani :

View attachment 77245

2. Thalassery/Tellicherry Chicken Dum Biriyani :

View attachment 77246

3. Malabar Fish Biriyani :

View attachment 77247

None of these use any "Aloos" . Maybe because our people always had lot of meat and fish in supply, we didn't need to add any "fillers" :P
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Or maybe your forefathers just had some common sense and recognised that potatoes would be better used by McDonalds.
 
I think just like Twitter poll it's going to be another tie here...
 
SandyB said:
Wow, so Bangladeshis add eggs and Bengalis add potatoes ? Why the discrepancy [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] ?
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Both sides of bengal have different ways of preparing biryani.

Even in kolkata Biryani may have a boiled egg that had been fried in some masala.
 
Do you know that the a in biryani and the aa in biryaani stand for aloo and aalu respectively? Without aloo, it is just biryni
 
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[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] bhai now that the aloos are in front can we end the poll right now :srini
 
There is no need of Aloo in Biryani. Most places in Punjab and Isb/Rawalpindi don't include potatoes in their recipe, neither do we at home.

If anything i find raita complementary for Biryani. There are better ways of eating aloo. Meat/Chicken and rice create their own aroma.
 
Mostly it is the kids who like aloos, grown ups eat proper food that is meat or other proper vegetables.
 
waqar goraya said:
There is no need of Aloo in Biryani. Most places in Punjab and Isb/Rawalpindi don't include potatoes in their recipe, neither do we at home.

If anything i find raita complementary for Biryani. There are better ways of eating aloo. Meat/Chicken and rice create their own aroma.
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Small pieces of boiled potatoes taste good in raita but dahi should be thick
 
I'm surprised people are dispelling the idea of chicken biryani with tiny pieces of a vegetable in it as if it is devil's comfort food.


Come on guys try it first atleast before forming an opinion. I've had both types of biryanis with or without aloo and let me assure you the aloo part adds an extra dimension.
 
[MENTION=136079]ahmedwaqas92[/MENTION]



Ahmed bhai apnay nahi bataya, are you team aloo or team ignorant :stokes
 
Syed1 said:
[MENTION=136079]ahmedwaqas92[/MENTION]



Ahmed bhai apnay nahi bataya, are you team aloo or team ignorant :stokes
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Bro people who don't want Aloo in their Biryani should be subjected to Karelay Ki Bhaji everyday, as a viable substitute. :ma

Aloo without Biryani is like Haleem without gost :stokes
 
Real biryani is definitely without aaloos, people do add aaloos or prawns or whatever for taste but doesn't mean biryani is incomplete without them.
 
What's wrong with Aloo separatists, if you don't like it put it one side. Why ruin it for everyone else :jordan
 
Syed1 said:
So all of Karachi is kids?
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Does all of Karachi consider Biryani incomplete without aloos ?

I have seen many children who sideline palak from aloo palak or gobhi from aloo gobhi and feast on the potatoes. Children's love for aloo has assumed a legendary status. I remember there used to be a lesson in 2nd or 3rd grade Urdu book on eating etiquette, where a child starts the topic by complaining that " aloo gobhi ! dil chahta ha roz aloo ka saalin ho... "
 
ahmedwaqas92 said:
Bro people who don't want Aloo in their Biryani should be subjected to Karelay Ki Bhaji everyday, as a viable substitute. :ma

Aloo without Biryani is like Haleem without gost :stokes
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Gosht bolein bhai sahib! you already look like a vegetarian to me

Then what would you call a biryani without goshat? Goshat is indispensable and not aaloo.:imam
 
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Syed1 said:
I'm surprised people are dispelling the idea of chicken biryani with tiny pieces of a vegetable in it as if it is devil's comfort food.


Come on guys try it first atleast before forming an opinion. I've had both types of biryanis with or without aloo and let me assure you the aloo part adds an extra dimension.
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I have had Biryani with aloo too but it was not tiny.

I would gladly replace that aaloo with another piece of meat/chicken.
 
Waseem said:
Real biryani is definitely without aaloos, people do add aaloos or prawns or whatever for taste but doesn't mean biryani is incomplete without them.
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Please refer to Shan Masala recipe for more details. Bombay Biryani, Sindhi Biryani, Memon Biryani all have Aaloo included in it. After 20 mins of cooking, you cook them for 40 mins until they are well cooked :)
 
waleed88 said:
Please refer to Shan Masala recipe for more details. Bombay Biryani, Sindhi Biryani, Memon Biryani all have Aaloo included in it. After 20 mins of cooking, you cook them for 40 mins until they are well cooked :)
Click to expand...

Fortunately, i have one in one of my kitchen cabinets.

There is no mention of aloo in ingredients. WhatsApp Image 2017-11-25 at 3.06.10 AM.jpg

And no aaloo in the process, either WhatsApp Image 2017-11-25 at 3.06.10 AM (1).jpg
 
Hence proved aloo is only a niche and used in some particular areas where as in general practice aloo is kept far away from Biryani.
 
waqar goraya said:
This is Shan Biryani Masala. Nevertheless, according to you Sindhi Biryani also includes aloos. Even if this was Sindhi Biryani your stance stands rejected.
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Yes Shan Biryani Masala, the Sindhi biryani masla, since I have made all 3 biryanis myself I know the recipes to pretty much almost all of them. I have posted 2 other recipes from Memon and BOmbay Chicken biryani masla for your reference from Shan. I am wrong about the Sindhi biryani but the other two I'm pretty much right about.

The most popular one used by far is Bombay biryani masala.
 
waqar goraya said:
Hence proved aloo is only a niche and used in some particular areas where as in general practice aloo is kept far away from Biryani.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you haven't had the good fortune of having real biryani. Maybe you should remove the chicken too only have rice with masala :))
 
waleed88 said:
Unfortunately you haven't had the good fortune of having real biryani. Maybe you should remove the chicken too only have rice with masala :))
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Why should i remove the chicken/meat? there is no biryani without it. On the other hand, as shown by your favorite brand we can have a perfect biryani without any aaloo. :))
 
I like both. A well-made biryani is going to be great with or without aloo.

Seafood biryani sounds like an abomination though.
 
Anyone who cooks biryani using Shan/National masala is clearly a novice.

An expert biryani cook will always prepare his/her own masala.
 
Aloo is pretty decent for biryani but I prefer it only with chicken biryani and not with lamb. I might as well say this but out of curiosity I searched "pork biryani" on google and apparently it exists! :)))
 
Pakistanian said:
Have y'all ever had Kashmiri biryani? They use a whole Cashmere goat in it lol.
Click to expand...

Kashmiri Biryani / Kashmiri Pulao is a joke, with the presence of unwanted ingredients in there. When I'm eating rice and meat/vegatables, I don't want to encounter a grape or pomegranate.
 
Surprised this is even a debate. Aloo all the way in biryani. Without aloo and masala you are effectively having a platter of rice and chicken/mutton that's it. But with aloo and masala its biryani.
 
Varun said:
So in India if you walk into a restaurant and order 'one plate of biryani' and say nothing else, it's usually chicken biryani that is served.

How is it in Pakistan? Is mutton the default setting?
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No chicken is the cheapest meet so usually most shops sell chicken biryani and mutton or beef biryani 1 or 2 days a week. In Karachi there are multiple chains of Biryani restaurants all used to have different tastes but sadly over the last decade they have all become similar.

In our family we have multiple kinds of biryani type dishes
1. Biryani 2 tone with white rice and some yellow rice (chicken, beef or Mutton includes with potato, fish or prawn without, Then we have masoor biryani (red lentil with skin) that includes minced meet, potato chukanderz (beet) and boiled egg is added on top.
2. Then we have what we call akni type of pulao and follow the same potato rule as above for the different meats.
3. Then we have the normal pulao which follows the same rules.
 
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waleed88 said:
Same
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I however have devised a different recipe and dont follow their instructions. I marinade the meat and add extra spices in yogurt for a couple of hours and also add lemon. I add potatoes laters as they get too soft when using mutton. Half cook the rice in a rice cooker. I also put in plums/prunes.
 
DVROOwHX0AAZClM.jpg:large
 
Any self respecting Biryani enthusiast will confirm that Biryani without potatoes is the devils work. There is just another kind of satisfaction when along with a rice and meat (and maybe some raita, although not my cup of tea) you squash that potato to have that perfect handful. Cheaper and more fulfilling too.
 
Chicken biryani has to have aloos

Beef/mutton biryani is fine without aloos
 
Varun said:
Kashmiri Biryani / Kashmiri Pulao is a joke, with the presence of unwanted ingredients in there. When I'm eating rice and meat/vegatables, I don't want to encounter a grape or pomegranate.
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Kashmiri biryani is a big disappointment tbh. [MENTION=131678]Madplayer[/MENTION] do you really add these grapes, apples, pomegranate etc to the biryani??
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">...why... <a href="https://t.co/gZLXHPcCDW">pic.twitter.com/gZLXHPcCDW</a></p>— P̴o̶p̴a̶l̷z̴a̸i̵ (@spopalzai) <a href="https://twitter.com/spopalzai/status/1006292136415899648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forget potatoes (or lack of), look at this monstrosity :facepalm:
 
Can't imagine Biryani without potatoes tbh. Even a garnish with fried badaam/kaju is ok accompanied by kewra and rose water. It's a personal preference, I find the adding of Zafraan (Saffron) and Kishmish (Prunes) a bit too much.
 
Abdullah719 said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">...why... <a href="https://t.co/gZLXHPcCDW">pic.twitter.com/gZLXHPcCDW</a></p>— P̴o̶p̴a̶l̷z̴a̸i̵ (@spopalzai) <a href="https://twitter.com/spopalzai/status/1006292136415899648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forget potatoes (or lack of), look at this monstrosity :facepalm:
Click to expand...

Bet it won’t taste like Biryani.Just extra spicy nando’s rice :facepalm:

Personally I don’t care if Biryani has or lacks potatos.It just jeeds to be good.
 
Last edited:
Just had my first biryani with potato today which reminded me of this thread. My sister was trying out this new "Bombay biryani" and she followed the recipe word by word including the "add potatoes" part. I was caught by surprise while enjoying the biryani.

Conclusion: Potatoes in Biryani feel out of place. Amidst of all the meat and typical biryani taste, the odd taste of potatoes sticks out. I guess if you are used to eating vegi biryani on a regular basis perhaps the potatoes won't matter but as a regular non-veg potatoeless biryani eater it did feel odd.

Aloo gosht ka salan to chalta hai magar aloo aur biryani nahi.
 
Sirris said:
Just had my first biryani with potato today which reminded me of this thread. My sister was trying out this new "Bombay biryani" and she followed the recipe word by word including the "add potatoes" part. I was caught by surprise while enjoying the biryani.

Conclusion: Potatoes in Biryani feel out of place. Amidst of all the meat and typical biryani taste, the odd taste of potatoes sticks out. I guess if you are used to eating vegi biryani on a regular basis perhaps the potatoes won't matter but as a regular non-veg potatoeless biryani eater it did feel odd.

Aloo gosht ka salan to chalta hai magar aloo aur biryani nahi.
Click to expand...

Maybe the aloos weren't well done and a bit raw, because actual Biryani with potatoes has well done aloo that don't have any taste of their own.
 
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