Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani in Pressure Cooker

If there’s one biryani that evokes emotion and wonder in equal measures, it’s the Kolkata style chicken biryani. People in Bengal swear by it. More than the rice and chicken, they swear by the potato.

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The potato is what differentiates a Kolkata style chicken biryani from the other biryani variants.

No doubt, most people feel intrigued by the presence of a vegetable in a dish comprising big chunks of meat. And a Bengali (from Bengal) in most cases would abandon a biryani if there’s no potato.

The practice is so prevalent that many restaurants provide an option to purchase an extra piece of potato on their menu that people can buy while having their biryani.

A Brief History on Kolkata Style Biryani

While discussing the history on the advent of biryani in Kolkata, there are two specific subjects that are of interest. One is the journey of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the mystery behind how the potato made its way into the biryani.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Pioneered the Kolkata Style Biryani

The story dates back to 1856. Then Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah lost his kingdom to the British and came to Kolkata.

The Kolkata style chicken biryani, as it is fondly called, is a direct copy of the Lucknow Biryani which food historians and old-timers say is a pulao.

Shahanshah Mirza, the great-great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, said to HT – “When Wajid Ali Shah came to Calcutta in 1856 , he was very hopeful that Awadh would be handed back to him, but that didn’t happen. So he sent his mother, son and younger brother to England to place this petition before Queen and British Parliament. While negotiations were going on in London, the revolt of 1857 took place and all hopes of getting Awadh back were dashed because the entire attention of the British was diverted in suppressing the rebellion.”

Shah was arrested and kept in Fort William for a period of 26 months.

When he was released, he was given an opportunity live anywhere in the country, and he chose Metiabruz in Kolkata. Soon he had visitors, from musicians to chefs. In no time, Metiabruz developed into a mini-Lucknow.

Kolkata style chicken biryani or mutton biryani is very similar to Lucknow style biryani or Awadhi Biryani. It follows the pakki style of preparing a biryani.

In pakki style of cooking biryani, a qorma is prepared with the meat. Rice is cooked separately. And then both are layered and cooked in dum.

Except for one thing – the potato!

How Did the Potato End Up in Kolkata Biryani?

Whether you are a Bengali who loves the potato in his biryani, or someone who feels that the potato should not be in a biryani, you wonder how the potato ended up among the rice, meat and spices.

Many opine that potato was introduced since Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was poor and could not afford meat. This is refuted by family members and descendants of people close to him.

Nawab Preferred His Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani Without Any Potato

Potato was still new to the subcontinent and quiet expensive.

The Nawab received one of the highest pensions in India which amounted to twelve lac per annum. Awadh at that time was a prosperous city and has been compared with Paris and London of the era.

Not to forget that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was one of the first to open a zoo in Kolkata and ensured that 25% of his pension was utilized for the maintenance and welfare of the animals.

It would be hence incorrect to say that the Nawab did not have money. He had enough to afford a biryani.

In a Nawab’s kitchen there used to be two types of cooks – khansama and raqabdar.

The raqabdar would only cook for the Nawab and his immediate family. Hence the name is derived from the word rawab, meaning a flat silver pot. A raqabdar would always cook enough to fill the raqab. He was also the chief chef.

On the other hand, the khansama would cook for the nobles and others. Since the Nawab was not rich as earlier, khansamas devised a way to add volume to the biryani.

They started adding potato and eggs to every plate of biryani and reduced the quantity of meat. The volume was maintained, and the nobles loved the flavor. Soon the nobles passed on the idea to their wives who started to cook biryani in a similar way.

Manzilat Fatima, the great granddaughter of the Nawab said that potato helped to maximize the dish, increase volume and helped feed his entourage.

In Kolkata, Wajid Ali Shah’s raqabdar was Ahmed Hussain. He knew the Nawab’s palate like no one else. The Nawab was a puritan. Ahmed Hussain always ensured that his biryani was filled with meat and minus the potato even in bad times.

Khansamas Took the Biryani with Potato to the Masses

Later in 1905, Ahmed Hussain went on to start his own restaurant in Kolkata’s Rabindra Sarani. He named it Royal Indian Hotel and stuck to his roots. He ensured that no potato or egg was added to the biryani, in keeping with the tradition.

The customers frequenting the restaurant missed the potato and craved for the same. Notwithstanding the pressure and demand for a potato in the biryani, the restaurant finally introduced the same in their Kolkata style chicken biryani a few years back.

On the other hand, the khansamas spread through out the city of Kolkata introducing the biryani from Lucknow along with eggs and potatoes. The biryani with meat, potato and eggs were very well received and is today a major craving for every citizen of the city and resident of the state of West Bengal.

Cooking a Perfect Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani

There are multiple factors that define the final outcome of a Kolkata style chicken biryani.

Rice

Like its Hyderabadi and Lucknow counterpart, Kolkata Biryani is made using long grain basmati rice. There are multiple brands available in the market and I have listed down a few below that I generally use.

The rice should have separate grains that do not stick. It should have the fragrance from the meat, korma and whole spices.

Oil & Ghee for Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani

In most restaurants dalda (Vanaspati Ghee) is majorly used along with little ghee.

At home and in many restaurants, people prefer using vegetable oil, sunflower oil being the most common.

However, if you ask the family of the Nawab, they would tell you that the base fat used is mustard oil and not vegetable oil. Ghee is used only sparingly just before the handi is put on dum.

In this recipe, I have stuck to the traditional cooking medium as mentioned above – mustard oil for cooking the chicken, and ghee is only used as a topping before putting the biryani pot on dum.

Here are a few recommendations, that are easily available in your nearest stores.

Spices

The Kolkata style chicken biryani is subtle and hence heavy spices are not used. Unlike a Hyderabad chicken biryani, this biryani uses spice for the mild fragrant that wafts towards you when a plate of biryani is served to you.

Every restaurant in the city and region has their own recipe for a powdered biryani masala. However, I prefer to get it store-bought and I ensure I get a good one.

I always recommended Shaan’s spices. The brand is based out of Bangladesh and it is only recently that I have found their products regularly stacked in stores.

Or get Nawab’s from Lucknow.

Chicken for an Excellent Kolkata Style Biryani in Pressure Cooker or Handi

Biryani is about the soft, juicy pieces of meat that lend its flavors to the rice. And hence the first rule is to always buy chicken on the bone. Do not buy boneless pieces.

The second thing to remember is that the size of these pieces should not be small like a curry cut or big like the ones in a Hyderabadi style chicken dum biryani. Get pieces in between this.

For example, if you are getting 750-800 grams (for four persons) of chicken for your biryani, you can ask for 10 pieces of 75-85 grams each. Your butcher will understand.

Potato – The Most Important Ingredient in a Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani

Interestingly, there are two types of potatoes largely found in a Kolkata style chicken biryani.

The first is the traditional, yellow-colored potatoes. The yellow tinge is from the use of turmeric and saffron.

The second is the brown-colored potatoes. This is where the process gets lengthier. In order to get brown-colored potatoes in your biryani, you should do the following:

• Slice your onions and fry them till golden brown
• Separate the onions and allow them to cool
• In a mixie, make a paste of these brown onions
• Add boiling water to this paste and mix properly
• Filter this liquid mix and collect the liquid
• The potato is then cook in this brown colored liquid giving it the distinct brown color

However, in both the cases, the recommendation is to use ‘Chandramookhi’ potato. It has higher absorption power and when the potato is boiled with salt and whole spices, it absorbs all the flavors.

You can choose to lightly saute them in oil, before boiling the potato.

Let’s go to the recipe now. Many homes do not have a handi large enough to cook the biryani, however, everyone has a pressure cooker. This recipe of Kolkata style chicken biryani in pressure cooker works great for any other vessel.

Where to Have the Best Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani?

There are hundreds of places in the city that serve average to the best biryani. Here are a few FinallyFoodie.com recommendations.

Manzilat

Manzilat Fatima is a direct heir of the last Nawab of Bengal who is credited to have brought the dish from then Awadh (now Lucknow). You get to hear the stories as well. Pre-bookings recommended.

Royal Indian Hotel

The chief chef of the Nawab opened this hotel after the Nawab passed away. They did not serve potato initially as the Nawab was a puritan and never wanted potato to replaced meat. However, these days owing to customer-pressure they do serve a potato.

You will experience the real flavors of a Biryani here.

The others include Arsalan, Aminia, India Restaurant, Dada Boudi.