Biryani Lab319 recipes
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What the words in biryani titles mean

240 English biryani recipes. For every word used in at least 10 of their titles, the recipes that use it against the rest, on every ingredient, in grams per 100 g of uncooked rice. 5 words go with a clear difference; 8 others change nothing measurable.

This is what recipe writers do when they pick a word, not proof that an ingredient makes the texture: the numbers show what recipes with the word have in common, and a recipe can earn its word through the method, the pan or the oven instead.

Ingredients, flavors and styles

Words that name something in the recipe or the kind it is. Some differences here are what the word says outright; they show the numbers can be trusted where the answer is known.

“vegetable”

16 recipes vs 224

Recipes with “vegetable” in the title: most use no meat, fish or egg (100% vs 20%); most add potatoes (75% vs 17% use some).

“vegetable” (16)the rest (224)middle half of all

  • Meat, fish or egg · share using anyrecipes with vegetable in the title 0% vs the rest 79%

  • Potatoes · share using anyrecipes with vegetable in the title 75% vs the rest 17%

For example: Restaurant Style Vegetable Biryani (Veg Biryani) (cookwithmanali.com) · Restaurant Style Vegetable Biryani Recipe (mygingergarlickitchen.com)

“mushroom”

10 recipes vs 230

Recipes with “mushroom” in the title: most use no meat, fish or egg (100% vs 23%); most use no yogurt (70% vs 18%).

“mushroom” (10)the rest (230)middle half of all

  • Meat, fish or egg · share using anyrecipes with mushroom in the title 0% vs the rest 76%

  • Yogurt · share using anyrecipes with mushroom in the title 30% vs the rest 81%

For example: Mushroom Biryani Recipe (whiskaffair.com) · Mushroom Biryani Recipe (Simple & Easy) (vegrecipesofindia.com)

“veg”

10 recipes vs 230

Recipes with “veg” in the title: most use no meat, fish or egg (100% vs 23%); most add potatoes (60% vs 19% use some).

“veg” (10)the rest (230)middle half of all

  • Meat, fish or egg · share using anyrecipes with veg in the title 0% vs the rest 76%

  • Potatoes · share using anyrecipes with veg in the title 60% vs the rest 19%

For example: Hyderabadi Veg Biryani (cubesnjuliennes.com) · Restaurant Style Vegetable Biryani (Veg Biryani) (cookwithmanali.com)

“chicken”

81 recipes vs 159

Recipes with “chicken” in the title: more meat, fish or egg (180% vs 90%).

“chicken” (81)the rest (159)middle half of all

  • Meat, fish or eggrecipes with chicken in the title 180% vs the rest 90%

For example: Malabar Chicken Biryani (recipesaresimple.com) · Chicken Biryani Recipe (indianhealthyrecipes.com)

Words that change nothing measurable

Recipes with these words in the title use about the same amounts as the rest on every ingredient, within what chance would explain. The number is how many titles use the word.

  • mutton 22
  • hyderabadi 18
  • pot 17
  • style 17
  • egg 13
  • instant 13
  • lamb 11
  • pakistani 11

How the words are tested

Titles are split into words, with two-word names kept whole ("small batch", "cream cheese", "brown butter") and spellings folded together ("crisp" and "crispy"). The dish's own name, words like "the" and "recipe", and any word in half the titles or more are left out. A word needs at least 10 recipes, and there must be 10 without it. English titles only, so a word cannot stand in for a language.

A difference is shown when the medians sit at least a third of the middle half of all these recipes apart (about half a standard deviation, a medium effect) and a rank test puts it at 3 standard errors or more. For an ingredient many recipes skip, the share using none counts too: 25 points apart at the same 3 standard errors. With dozens of words and every ingredient tested, about one chance difference in 370 comparisons would pass, so a lab may show one that is luck; a finding that repeats across labs is unlikely to be.

Shares are rounded down. Each card links two recipes that use the word, nearest its own medians.