Briyani is bliss

explain bliss in food?

If there is a description for a dish that has moved people's hearts, connecting them with something moist, robust, and spicy with blends of aromatic flavors, then Briyani would be the answer.

Briyani, infused with layers of love is marinated with the vegetables and or with meats soaked in a blend of spices. Another layer of rice retains spices like cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and cumin. A liberal amount of fresh ghee adds to the incredible aroma.

The top layer has more plain rice with golden browned onion and is garnished with poured ghee, saffron and rose water to balance the spiciness on the bottom. When ready, these offerings get scooped from all layers and mixed just right to bring forth all the flavors when served.

Even all of these are such poor descriptions of the inexplainable and unique flavor combination. Go have some Briyani!

Queen of Fragrant

Basmati rice has been cultivated in the low hills and base mountains of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. Its name translates to "The Fragrant One" or "Queen of Fragrant" in Hindi. When it comes to Briyani, this rice cooked with spices is twice as nice.

There are more than 120,000 varieties of rice in the world, and they are categorized and graded by how it's milled, the size of the kernel, starch content, flavor and their best usage.

The seed of 'Oryza Sativa', commonly known as Asian rice, comes in the most typical size categories; long-grain, medium-grain, and short-grain.

Rice Resilience

Millions answered the call when United States immigration laws changed in the 1960s to allow more Asians from Thailand, Cambodia, India, Korea and China. Each ethnic group brought their culture, clothing, language, and habitual love for rice, as well as Spices. Today, so many from these backgrounds have come, lived and stayed as Coloradans.

In North America and Europe, the awareness of the health benefits of traditional Asian rice is ever-expanding beyond the population of rice-consuming ethnic groups.

In many parts of India, including Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, cuisines are traditionally served on a banana leaf and during festive occasions.

Indian cuisines served on the banana leaves absorbs polyphenols, which prevent many lifestyle diseases. They are also said to have anti-bacterial properties that can kill the germs in food. Yes, we do not easily get banana leaves here in Colorado but the Briyani will still leave you speechless.

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Here is a link for some Briyani suggestions from Swasthi’s Recipe website. Try making your own Briyani.

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The Spice Route | Spice Dabba | Art of Spice Tempering | Science of Spices | Briyani is Bliss| Spices and Colorado Cultural Connection

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STATE OF THE SPICES is a body of work by fine arts photographer Raj Manickam. The collection of photographs and mixed media artwork investigates the diaspora of spices from their indigenous grounds to worldwide spaces. The Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish original intentions were to dominate the spice trade. Manickam outlines the early spice routes and colonial conquest of the South Asian and Indian subcontinent. Manickam has a distinct grasp of being an observer in his photography. He has an extensive array of Indian spices and has a passion for cooking authentic South Indian food. Manickam's photographic subjects and mixed media works identify some of the most used and flavorful spices in this collection. Here, he connects aspects of these spices in their present-day use, especially in Colorado's South Asian Indian community.

Briyani photo was taken and enjoyed at Bawarchi at Centennial, CO

Visit here for more photo stories > AllinGoodLight.com