Biryani Lab319 recipes
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What goes into biryani

The main ingredient list of all 319 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: aged and extra-long basmati are basmati rice, curd and yogurt are yogurt, kosher and table salt are salt. Ghee and oil stay apart, and so do the whole spices. Garnishes and raita are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • For the main ingredient, 39% use chicken alone, 23% vegetables alone, and 7% lamb alone.
  • For fat, 32% use oil alone, 26% oil and ghee together, and 25% ghee alone.
  • For rice, 73% use basmati alone, 11% plain rice (no kind named) alone, and 10% seeraga samba alone.
  • 98% add garlic, ginger or herbs, 63% fresh or dried chiles and 31% fruit, raisins or carrots; 0% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 400 g of uncooked rice, the size of a typical pot. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical pot on every ingredient.

Chicken, mutton, fish or vegetables

Each recipe counted once, by the meat, fish, eggs or paneer in it.

  • Chicken only

    median 719 g meat, fish, egg or paneer · closest to typical: Chicken Biryani Recipe (indianhealthyrecipes.com)

    39%126 recipes

  • Vegetables only

    closest to typical: Chettinad Biryani Recipe (Vegetarian) (vegrecipesofindia.com)

    23%76 recipes

  • Lamb only

    median 667 g meat, fish, egg or paneer · closest to typical: Lamb Biryani (cubesnjuliennes.com)

    7%23 recipes

  • Mutton or goat only

    median 490 g meat, fish, egg or paneer · closest to typical: Lucknowi Murgh Biryani (haalasdastarkhaan.com)

    6%20 recipes

  • Eggs only

    median 270 g meat, fish, egg or paneer · closest to typical: Egg biryani (indianhealthyrecipes.com)

    5%19 recipes

  • Everything else

    17%55 recipes

Ghee, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list, frying the onions included.

Which rice

Each recipe counted once, by the rice it names.

Seeraga samba is the short, fragrant rice of Tamil biryanis (Ambur, Dindigul); sella is basmati parboiled in the husk, which keeps its grains apart.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 0% add none of these. Spice and meat or fish are one of the dish's own ratios on the overview rather than an add-in, so they are left out here.

  • Garlic, ginger or herbs98%

    ginger 88% · coriander leaves 71% · garlic 60%

  • Fresh or dried chiles63%

    fresh chiles 60% · cayenne 1% · hot sauce 1%

  • Fruit, raisins or carrots31%

    raisins 16% · carrot 10% · zucchini 1%

  • Nuts27%

    cashews 19% · almonds 5% · walnuts 1%

  • Jalapeños or other savory10%

    jalapeño or chile 8%

  • Grated coconut3%

    shredded coconut 3%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 319 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 400 g of uncooked rice.

  1. Onion89%

    286 recipes · median 238 g

  2. Salt88%

    282 recipes · median 12 g

  3. Ginger88%

    281 recipes · median 13 g

  4. Cinnamon74%

    239 recipes · median 4.3 g

  5. Basmati rice74%

    238 recipes

  6. Cardamom74%

    237 recipes · median 1.3 g

  7. Coriander leaves71%

    228 recipes · median 4.3 g

  8. Yogurt69%

    222 recipes · median 146 g

  9. Cloves68%

    219 recipes · median 1.1 g

  10. Turmeric67%

    216 recipes · median 2 g

  11. Garlic60%

    194 recipes · median 12 g

  12. Fresh chiles60%

    192 recipes · median 5 g

  13. Mint58%

    188 recipes · median 5 g

  14. Water55%

    178 recipes · median 769 g

  15. Vegetable oil54%

    174 recipes · median 54 g

  16. Bay leaves53%

    172 recipes · median 0.4 g

  17. Ghee53%

    170 recipes · median 36 g

  18. Chili powder51%

    165 recipes · median 3.2 g

  19. Cumin46%

    147 recipes · median 2.3 g

  20. Garam masala44%

    142 recipes · median 3.6 g

  21. Chicken42%

    136 recipes · median 719 g

  22. Black pepper35%

    112 recipes · median 1.6 g

  23. Saffron32%

    104 recipes · median 0.4 g

  24. Ground coriander30%

    98 recipes · median 3.4 g

  25. Lemon juice28%

    92 recipes · median 24 g

  26. Star anise27%

    88 recipes · median 1.4 g

  27. Milk24%

    78 recipes · median 66 g

  28. Mace20%

    64 recipes · median 0.8 g

  29. Cashews19%

    63 recipes · median 32 g

  30. Potato19%

    63 recipes · median 432 g

  31. Fennel seeds17%

    56 recipes · median 2.3 g

  32. Raisins16%

    54 recipes · median 41 g

Toppings and extras

22% of recipes (71 of 319) list something beyond the main recipe: a garnish, a raita or the water to boil the rice. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Coriander leaves9% (30)
  • Vegetable oil4% (13)
  • Onion3% (10)
  • Water3% (10)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “2 cups basmati rice” and “aged basmati rice” are both basmati rice, and a line that offers a choice (“ghee or oil”) counts as the first one named.

Lines for garnishing or serving count as extras, wherever the line says so, and so does a raita or salan on the side. Ghee, saffron milk and fried onions for layering are part of the biryani.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups, spoons and counts with standard weights. Scaling them to 400 g of uncooked rice lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.