Kolkata biryani

Kolkata biryani is a spiced rice dish from the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India, a local tradition that traces its roots to Mughlai cooking. Rice is the base ingredient, and meat, eggs, potatoes and spices are added. It is best known for its use of potatoes and for a lighter blend of spices than many other biryanis. Biryani in general is believed to have originated in Iran, and the form known as modern biryani is said to have been invented in Delhi during the Mughal period, while the Kolkata style is dated to the 1850s and 1860s. One account places its beginning in the kitchen of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who lived in exile in Calcutta after the British East India Company dethroned him in 1856. That account holds that reduced spicing and a lower proportion of meat made the dish lighter in texture than the Lucknow biryani, and that large pieces of potato were added to fill out the portions. The dish is very popular in Kolkata and its suburbs and throughout West Bengal.