Biryani vs pilau rice: what’s the difference?

Rice is half of a curry night, and the rice menu can be confusing. Here is how biryani, pilau and the rest compare.

Basmati: the starting point

Basmati is a long-grain rice grown in the foothills of the Himalaya, in northern India and Pakistan. Its name means fragrant, and it cooks into long, separate grains with a light, nutty aroma. All of our rice dishes start with basmati.

Pilau rice

Pilau (also pulao) is rice cooked with spices so that every grain takes on a little flavour. In British curry houses it is usually lightly fried with whole spices and coloured golden with saffron or similar. Ours is basmati rice fried with saffron. Pilau is a side dish: it is made to go with a curry.

Biryani

Biryani is a meal in itself. The name is usually traced to a Persian word for rice, and the dish rose to fame in Mughal kitchens. In India there are many regional styles, from Hyderabad to Lucknow and Kolkata, often made by layering partly cooked rice with spiced meat and slow-cooking them together.

That slow, sealed cooking is called dum. The pot is closed, sometimes with a ring of dough, and left over a gentle heat so the rice steams in the aromas of the meat and spices. Saffron, crisp fried onions and fresh herbs are often added between the layers, which is why a good biryani has grains of different colours and flavours running through it.

In British curry houses, biryani is usually rice cooked with spiced meat, prawns or vegetables, served with a curry sauce on the side so that it is not dry. Our biryani is cooked with basmati rice and your choice of vegetables, chicken, lamb, prawn or king prawn, and comes with an extra mixed-vegetable curry sauce. The Gurkha Special Mixed Biryani brings chicken tikka, lamb tikka, prawn and vegetables together.

Fried rice and the rest

• Plain boiled rice: steamed basmati, the best partner for a rich sauce.
• Garlic, mushroom, egg fried and vegetable rice: basmati fried with each of those.
• Keema rice: fried with minced lamb and vegetables.
• Lemon rice: pilau with mustard seeds and lemon zest.
• Gurkha Special Fried Rice: pilau rice with prawn, chicken and lamb.

How much rice should I order?

As a rule of thumb, one portion of rice per person, or one rice and one naan between two if you like both. A biryani counts as a main course, so it doesn’t need extra rice. You will find every rice dish and biryani on our menu, and our curry night guide has more ordering tips.