biryani gravy recipe | biryani shorba | gravy for biryani | sherva recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is biryani gravy made of? ›

Shorba recipe made with onions, tomatoes, spices & herbs. One of the best veg side gravy for biryani, pulao or any flavored rice dishes. It is also known as sherva or biryani shorba & is a very common dish served in South Indian restaurant restaurants.

Shorba is prepared with a number of Indian spices like saffron, cumin, and turmeric, all of which are not only extremely beneficial for health, but they also have thermogenic properties that maintain that help in maintaining body temperature.

The main flavors in the Shorba recipe are that of a fine curry paste of spices, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, coconut and mint or coriander leaves used in it, which blend really well with a pulao or biryani. For the coconut bit, I prefer to use fresh grated coconut.

A quintessential masala for biryani includes cumin, coriander, peppercorn, green and black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, mace, fennel seeds, dry red chilli et al. Some people also add mint leaves, kasuri methi, saffron and other such herbs to elevate the flavours.

This liquid is commonly known as "biryani essence" or "biryani water," and is added to the rice and meat or vegetables as it cooks, infusing the dish with its distinct aroma and flavor.

It is called Salan / Salna / Shorba / Cherwa in different regions in south India. Sometimes Dalcha, a thin dal preparation with tomatoes and gourds, is served with Biryani. 'Oily' appears in low cost establishments.

Popular Indian shorba is a soup and shorva is a soup/stew like curry. It has consistency thinner than that of a curry.

Shorba is a thin, light Indian-style soup made with local spices and herbs. 'Shorba' comes from the Arabic word 'Shorbah,' which means soup. It originated in the Middle East but became very popular in India.

In India a shorba is usually a drink rather than a thick soup and they are consumed when it's cold as a warming drink to warm the hands as well as the body. They tend to be packed with herbs and spices and are spicy to give you a hearty health boost when the cold weather hits.

Butter, meat stock, edible fragrance, rose water, milk and kewda should be added in the biryani while layering the rice properly over the chicken. These ingredients add a delicious flavor to the biryani and give it a lovely appearance.

What makes biryani juicy? ›

2) During the cooking of the main ingredient (chicken, mutton or paneer), add some full fat milk instead of water. Also, the right amount of ghee will lead to a better juicier biryani. Bonus Tip: If you want to reheat the leftover biryani, always sprinkle some milk, cover and reheat.

The first (and most important) ingredient in biryani is the rice. This is a dish where you want to seek out aged basmati rice.

The spice that primarily gives biryani its distinctive flavor is a blend of spices, rather than a single spice. However, one of the key spices that contributes significantly to the flavor of biryani is a blend of aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and bay leaves.

To get an authentic flavor and taste of Biryani, do use all the mentioned ingredients and if desired you can substitute ghee for oil. This is one of the best hyderabadi biryani recipe I have made for years and has been a favorite among the readers of this blog.

🔪 How to make this Indian Base Gravy

Add garlic, ginger, garam masala, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, salt, pepper, cardamom and tomato puree and stir together. Add chopped red and green bell pepper, chopped carrot and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Stir and bring to the boil, then simmer for 1 hour.

A curry is simply a sauce that has curry, or masala, and usually cumin too in it to give it that distinctive “curry” flavor. A sauce is a combination of finely diced solids with liquids that is used over solid foods. A gravy is similar to a sauce but has meat as both a flavoring agent and served as a course .