Beryani Recipe
Beryani (Beryooni, بریانی) is a traditional delicious Persian dish which has originated in Isfahan. Isfahan is one of the most beautiful cities in Iran with an old and vibrant culture. It has been Iran’s capital for several years. If you visit Iran as a tourist, you will probably visit Isfahan. And in Isfahan, you will be hosted with the local food Beryani. Beryani is a typical food in many regions of the world. However, the Beryooni of Isfahan is the one which is cooked with lamb and commonly served with the sheep lights. It is considered a very fatty dish.
Many people know Beryani or as Isfahanians would say Beryooni as the traditional food of Isfahan. However, Isfahan has many other dishes, such as Gheymeh Rizeh, but Beryooni is more popular. There are some shops in Isfahan that sell only Abgoosht and Beryooni. They call these shops Beryani. It is rare to find Beryani out of Isfahan in Iran. If you are living out of that region, you’d better cook this delicious food at home.
Different types of Beryani:
Beryani is cooked all over the world from India to Iran. It is more prevalent in Asia. Therefore, it has plenty of varieties. Because in every region people have changed the ingredients to their liking. In this article, we are discussing the Persian Beryani which they make at Isfahan. Persian Beryooni has different types depending on the ingredients they use in making them. The original recipe has beef as the main ingredient. However, nowadays, it is prevalent to cook Beryani with chicken and lamb, too. Moreover, some methods include sheep lights as another ingredient while some others don’t. Some techniques result in too fatty dishes, and some others result in a moderate lighter meal.
Important nutrition facts of Beryani:
100 gr Beryani cooked with chicken, has about 174 kcal. It has 23.93 gr carbohydrates, 8.05 gr protein, and 5 gr fat. It also contains 1.61 mg vitamin C, 066 mg vitamin E, 2.28 mg vitamin B3, 21.73 mg vitamin B4, and 3.26 mg vitamin K. it also includes all varieties of vitamin B in a notable amount. Moreover, it has 14.24 mg calcium, 23.07 mg magnesium, 84 mg phosphor, 207 mg potassium, 235 mg sodium, and about 1 mg zinc. It has other vital minerals in smaller amounts, too.
Vegetarian tips:
Although in a glimpse, it seems like that this food includes too many meats, but you can make it a vegetarian dish by omitting the meats or replacing them. Indeed, if we exclude the meat, other ingredients are nuts, rice, and vegetables. You can also add lentils or soybeans instead of meat. Nevertheless, in that condition, the final taste would be completely different.
Serving style of Beryani:
Iranians serve Beryani as the main course for dinner or lunch. Indeed it is so fatty when cooked by red meat that it is better to be served only for lunch. A salad such as lettuce salad, Shirazi Salad (Persian cucumber salad) can be the right choice for side dishes next to Beryani. Torshi (Persian pickles), sir Torshi and Sabzi Khordan are other side dishes. All kinds of beverages can be served along with this meal, but Persian Sharbts such as Sharbat e Ablimoo (Persian lemonade) or Shrabat e BaharNarenj can be better choices. You can also use, sodas, Doogh (Persian yogurt drink), or any drink to your taste.
What are the ingredients of Beryani?
The main ingredient of Beryani is lamb. Nowadays, it is possible to use beef or chicken. In the original recipes, there is also tail fat as a primary component. Moreover, it would be best if you had nuts such as pistachio slices and almond slices and walnuts. You can either chop or slice the walnuts. It would be best if you also had some spices such as cinnamon, saffron, and pepper. Some dried herbs including dried mint and onions are required, too. Another ingredient that many might dislike is sheep lights that they fry and add to the food as a garnish.
How to cook Beryani?
To cook Beryani, dice the onions and cook the lamb along with the onions, salt, pepper, and some water. Then cook the sheep lights (lunges) with onions and water and salt when the lamb is thoroughly cooked ground it with other spices such as saffron. Now it is time to fry the Beryani. Pout the grounded lamb in a pancake pan and fry it. Pour some of the Biryani’s juice on the Sangak and place Beryani on it. Add the fried lights as the topping. You can either cook the meats with tail fat or vegetable oil.
Recipe:
This recipe is adequate for four people. The preparation time is 60 minutes, and the cooking time is 20 minutes. This food is served along with Sangak.
Beryani
Ingredients
- 1⅕ lb lamb (shoulder)
- 1½ oz tail fat
- 1½ oz sheep light (lunges)
- 2 onions
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon ground
- 1 tablespoon brewed saffron
- 1 cup sliced walnuts, pistachio and almond (mixed)
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Dice the onions
- Cook the lamb along with tail fat and onions and 4 cups of water
- Cook the sheep lights with onions and water
- Add salt and pepper to both of them while cooking
- After the lamb cooked ground it with all the components inside the pot (onions, juice,...) and saffron
- Pout some of the grounded meat in a pancake pan and fry it
- Pour some of the meat’s juice on to a Sangak and place the Biryani on it
- Fry the cooked lights and use them as a topping
Notes
Uniqop’s Advice:
- You can use vegetable oil instead of fat.
- You can use this recipe with chicken.
- In Isfahan, they use the extra gravy to make Tilit, and they use Kask as a garnish.
- You can serve this food with bread or rice. Sangak is the best bread option.