Rice across India
In South and East India, rice is eaten at almost every meal. In the north, it shares the table with wheat breads. Our Indian rice dishes range from a royal biryani to simple South Indian “variety rice” made from leftover rice.
Biryani
- Hyderabadi dum biryani: the famous kachchi biryani, with raw marinated chicken cooked under part-cooked rice on dum. Serve it with mirchi ka salan.
Pakistani biryanis are a family of their own; see chicken biryani, Sindhi biryani and Bombay biryani.
South Indian rice
- Lemon rice: cooked rice tossed with a crunchy tarka, turmeric and lemon; perfect for lunch boxes.
- Curd rice: soft rice with cool yogurt and a mustard seed tarka, the soothing end to every South Indian meal.
- Bisi bele bath: Karnataka’s spicy one-pot rice, lentils and vegetables.
Using leftover rice
Lemon rice and curd rice are traditionally made with rice cooked earlier in the day. Cold rice holds its shape when tossed with a tarka, so they’re an ideal use for leftovers.
Serving
Serve rice dishes with pickle, papad and yogurt or raita.