Biryani & Pulao Masala

Biryani masala is a blend of the warm spices that flavour layered meat and rice: cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, mace, bay leaf and chilli, and often dried plums, fried onion or saffron. Pulao and yakhni masalas are gentler, made for rice cooked in a spiced meat stock. Tehari, the Bangladeshi and Lucknowi rice dish cooked with meat or potato, has a blend all its own.

Each regional biryani has its character. Sindhi biryani is hot and tangy with potatoes and plums, Bombay biryani is fragrant and slightly sweet, Memoni biryani is rich and spicy, and Karachi beef biryani is bold and heavy on chilli. Pick a pulao masala for a milder rice dish, a vegetable biryani blend for a meat-free pot, and a fish biryani blend for seafood. The packets are strongly spiced, so a slightly smaller amount gives a gentler result.

Use long grain basmati rice, soaked for thirty minutes and boiled until about three quarters cooked before layering it over the meat and masala. Seal the pot tightly and cook on the lowest heat so the steam finishes the rice. See garam masala for finishing, meat masala for curries, fried onions for the topping, and more masalas.