THE HEALTHY BIRYANI!!

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Yes! What you read above is absolutely true and this might be perplexing. Biryani is comfort food for people in India and is being honoured by them. Biryani is one such food that has a fanbase for it and is tagged as “biryani is not a word; it is an emotion”. 

Biryani is the most favoured dish for non-vegetarian lovers. This dish has become inevitable for many in this generation. On the darker side, some say that biryani is overhyped. They say that it is just rice cooked with meat\vegetables with spices and there is no need for creating such hype on such dishes. Despite that, biryani is one of the most devoured dishes all over the country and has got different variants based on the ingredients.

However, biryani is not a healthy dish and is not be consumed every day. The reason is in the preparation. Biryani to be tasty requires a lot of desi ghee and spices. These are indeed healthy for the body but within a limit, as supported by the proverb “too much of anything is good for nothing”. Then how come biryani is healthy. It depends on the ingredients and preparation. The biryani specified below is indeed healthy and can be consumed daily!!!

The biryani I am going to describe is present for centuries, way before the conventional biryani and it hype. Kudos to those who found it right! This biryani is called ice biryani!! For those who don’t know what ice biryani is; it is called ‘palayasoru’ in Tamil. It is known as fermented rice. Surprised right? Sorry for those who expected it to be normal biryani.

Ice biryani is also known as fermented rice is one of the healthy breakfasts in the entire world. This dish has a profound amount of carbohydrates that can keep you energetic for the day. Breakfast being the essential and the first meal of the day, it is trivial to eat it healthy. Ice biryani is one of the breakfasts recommended by doctors to lead a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Farmers in south India especially in the state of TamilNadu used to have this in the morning and they will have sufficient energy even after working under the scorching heat for hours. The dish is an excellent source of probiotics referring to healthy resident bacterial species. Most of these are essential for digestion. The food is rich in fiber and can prevent gastrointestinal diseases related to stool like constipation and diarrhea since fiber plays an important role in solidifying the stool.

The traditional ice biryani is prepared by soaking boiled rice in water the night before. This process ferments the rice and attracts many bacteria. These microbes destroy the anti-nutritional factors in the rice. This process is known as fortification and as a result, there is an enhancement in the nutrition of the fermented food. The following table compares the nutritional differences between fermented and normal rice.

MACRO/MICRO NUTRIENTS	NORMAL	FERMENTED
CARBOHYDRATE	28	27
PROTEIN	6	8
FAT	0.3	0.2
FIBER	0.3	2.46
CALCIUM	100	120
CALORIES	130	140

 

As you can see, there are some significant changes in the nutritional values of fermented rice in comparison to the normal one. There is a significant increase in fiber content and a decrease in fat and carbohydrate. This is the simplest method of fortification. Many food scientists work on different methods to fortify foods. One can easily get fortified food so easily and the fact is that our ancestors did these without knowing the scientific reason behind it.

FACT- the fermented rice water is being used in shampoo since it is rich in protein.

Even though the dish is the best in a health point of view, the dish stands low when it comes to taste. Traditionally, the dish is consumed with buttermilk, small onion, and green chili. These condiments are used to get some taste as the original dish is too bland. However, there can be innovations in this dish and people can try to elevate the dishes using unique curries and gravies.

On the whole, the ice biryani is such a dish with extraordinary medicinal properties and the fact that it can be prepared by anyone. This is one of the dishes of which the current generation might not be aware. This dish is often neglected by people due to its bland taste. However, it is in the hands of the parents to innovatively incorporate this dish into their child’s diet so that they enjoy these health benefits at a younger age. This can indeed build their immunity and can prevent them from a variety of diseases. Finally, I would like to convey my apologies to those who expected this to be an article on the conventional biryani!!