Here's Why Biryani is Overrated

After a long and careful thought, I have decided to go with something that isn't controversial at all for this week. So, I thought let me diss the most popular rice dish on the planet. Ironically, for a page called "Ricesome", this is the most reductive article that I can write.

By the end of this, I am sure you will either agree or disagree with me, but you won't sit on the fence. No one likes fence-sitters anyway. (You know who you are!) If you are one of the probably 7 people on the planet who have not heard about Biryani, here is a brief- HISTORY LESSON! (but not a big one this time)

Biryani is not from India. It was introduced to us by the Mughals during the 15th century along with many other things such as pilaf, kebabs, asafoetida, etc. But, according to India Currents, "There is some historical evidence to show that there were other, similar rice dishes before the Mughal invasion. There is mention of a rice dish known as “Oon Soru” in Tamil as early as the year 2 A.D. Oon Soru was composed of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf, and was used to feed military warriors."

Image Credits: Picryl

This shows that early on in history we figured out that if we combine rice with meat, ghee, and spices and cooked it over charcoal or any open flame, it was gonna be pretty damn tasty. Also, Biryani was a dish that was only consumed by the royalty. If you saw Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyaan as I told you, you would find that many of the 'Khansamas' (Royal Cooks) kept their recipes a secret, and some of them didn't even pass it down.

So, what went wrong over the years? If this dish is so popular and is a major part of our culinary identity in the global food scene, then why is a knucklehead like me talking smack about it?

Well.....Here's why...

Think of the last time, you had a good Biryani. A good one. Something that as soon as you think about it, you can feel your lips smacking together. Now, how frequently do you get a good Biryani? Think about how many ads you see for this dish. Think of all the food delivery ads, the T-shirts with the cheesy quotes about it, and the number of places you see every day- just think about how many Biryani places are there in every city, how many of them open and close down and how many restaurants have biryani on their menu. It seems like the list never stops. And you know what the sad part is- MOST OF THEM TASTE THE SAME!!!!

I cannot even tell the difference sometimes. All mediocre Biryani's taste the same. The spices used have no distinction. It's like all the diners collectively held an underground meeting and decided to bring down the taste of this royal dish, just to prolong the years of capitalization. Biryani has more deliciousness per square inch than any other rice dish. So, people got their hands on it. It was quick and easy money.

What about Dal rice? When did you last order Dal rice when you went to a restaurant? Probably never. But let me tell you something, A Dal chawal or Dal rice has never disappointed me. Can I think of a time a Biryani has disappointed me? Multiple times. Dal Rice? Not even once. What does that say? When a Biryani is good, it's good. But when it's bad, it's REALLY bad. Burnt rice, soggy rice, dry meat that tastes like an eraser, old meat, too much spice, too little spice, too many bones- you know what I am talking about. Dal chawal has managed to satisfy my appetite consistently. Dal chawal is like sex. Any Dal chawal is good dal chawal. (I mean I wouldn't know...I heard this from someone...)

Credits: Ricesome Instagram

Credits: Ricesome Instagram

So, this begs the question. Are all popular dishes overrated? Well......no.

Is pizza overrated? No, pizza is a global food. Even the bad pizzas are good pizzas like Domino's or Pizza Hut. We accept their mediocrity and the price at which they are available. Is a sandwich overrated? No, there are an endless number of sandwiches available and each one is distinct from the other. Are choco-chip cookies overrated?..... Don't you even go there...

I know it's not cool to hate something that is popular but it's also not cool to give something too much credit when it doesn't deserve it. Don't get me wrong, Biryani is one of the most delicious rice dishes ever made in the history of this planet. (Ricesome swears by it) I am not dissing the dish, I am only criticizing the bad versions of it and the people who feel that disliking it means you have offended the 3 generations of their family....above and below.

I will be on a quest to find a biryani that will knock my socks off and make me write an apology post for writing this. But until then, I stand by my unpopular opinion of this glorious rice dish being loved and used too much by the citizens and corporate organizations of India like it's the youngest child of a family.

P.S. If you do wanna fight about it with me- which I encourage you to do so, let's take this to the DMs (_@ricesome_) or comment down your opinion, and let me know how wrong I am about this ;)

See you next week!