How it works
What to eat with biryani? The rice already holds the meat and the spice, so its sides are cool, sour or saucy. These 36 ideas run from raitas and salans to kebabs, sweets and drinks.
Read the full guide
Raita, salan and salad
Biryani may be served with raita, which is yogurt with cucumber, tomato or other vegetables, with fried or curried eggplant, with a salad, or with a curried side: ande ka salan holds boiled eggs and mirchi ka salan holds chili peppers. A Hyderabadi biryani usually comes with mirchi ka salan and dahi chutney. Baghaar-e-baingan, an eggplant curry, is a common side there, and the salad is onion, carrot and cucumber with lemon wedges.
No bread, no second rice
The rice is the main dish, so skip bread and a second rice. Put the raita and the salan in bowls of their own, and bring a few kebabs out before the pot is opened.
- Chill the raita well. Cold yogurt against hot rice is the point of it.
- Open the pot at the table. The steam and the smell are part of the meal.
Questions and answers
What side dishes go with biryani?
Raita and mirchi ka salan first. After them: kachumber salad, boiled eggs, papad and onion rings with lemon.
What to serve with chicken biryani?
The same sides as any biryani: a cold raita, a spoonful of salan and a plate of kachumber. A boiled egg on each plate or a few shami kebabs make it a bigger meal.
What to eat with veg biryani?
Raita and a salan as usual, then something filling: spinach and pea patties, egg curry, or tandoori chicken for the meat eaters at the table. Fried onions and fried cashews add crunch.
What dessert goes with biryani?
Double ka meetha, a Hyderabadi bread dessert, is often served alongside or after biryani at weddings and festive meals. Phirni, a rice pudding eaten chilled, and zarda, a sweet saffron rice, are other choices.
What do you drink with biryani?
Without alcohol: borhani, a savory yogurt drink from Bangladesh that is normally drunk after a heavy meal such as biryani. Rose sherbet over ice is the sweet choice.