Hello Everyone!!

I hope you all are good and doing well Today I'm here to be a part of this amazing contest SLC-S31W3 -“My taste, My Culture; festivefood. by @alexanderpeace . I really like the theme of contest and we will explore different cultures, their heritage and yummy recipes around the world.

Biryani is one of my family's favorite so For this contest I'm going to make a delicious recipe of chicken Biryani that belongs to my festive food.

Lets move towards contest;

Task 1: Preparation (3 marks)

Today I'm sharing a delicious recipe of chicken Biryani in my style; let's start;

Ingredients :

Ingredients	quantity
Chicken	1kg
Rice	850g
Chilli powder	1.5 tbsp
Coriander powder	2tbsp
Chilli flakes	1tsp
Salt	as per taste
Cumin seeds	1tsp
Turmeric powder	1tsp
Garam masala	1/2tsp
Garlic ginger paste	2tbsp
Oil 5-6tbsp
Fried onion	4-5tbsp
Tomatoes	5 medium
Yougart	1/2cup
Food color	1/4tsp

Making :

Biryani is done in three steps ,first chicken masala is made then rice is boiled then mixing of chicken masala is done to make Biryani.

Step 1: Chicken Masala Presentation

• Take oil in a pan and fry chicken in it until its colour changes then add garlic ginger paste in it and fry it for 1-2 minutes. Slit green chillies into 4 pieces and fry it with chicken. Then add all dry spices in pan and sotey it until good aroma of spices come out.

• Add tomatoes, yougart and fried onions in it and cook until chicken and all soten and oil comes out. Now chicken masala is ready to mixed with rice.

Step2 : Boiling Rice

• Rice is soaked in water for 30 minutes before boiling. Add cardamom, cinnamon and clove in water and keep heating it. After 7-8 minutes add soaked rice in it and boil it. When rice 95% cooked strain it in a strainer.

Step3: Layering

• In a pan add 1tbsp of oil then add a base layer of boiled rice, then spread chicken masala over rice . Then make another layer of chicken masala over it then spread rice over it . Then add food color at the top of lyer. Add 1-2 tbsp of oil on it. Place lid over pan and cook it for 7-8 mins until rice completely cooked.

Mixed chicken masala with rice . Delicious chicken Biryani is ready to serve.

^{Final Presentation}

Task 2: Festive Significance (2 marks)

---

I belong to Pakistan and In Pakistani culture, Chicken Biryani is not a common everyday meal, it’s a special occasion dish. While some families do cook it on weekends, it’s most commonly prepared when you want to honor guests or to celebrate.

I my culture this festive food biryani made for:

1. Weekly gatherings Its traditional that many families make biryani on Friday /Jumu’ah /weekends after prayers as a weekend treat.

2. Get-togethers When relatives visit, or when hosting guests the menu is not complete without biryani.

3. Celebrations All events are incomplete without biryani ,events of celebrations like birthdays, weddings, engagements, graduation parties, housewarming etc must have Biryani.

Our Islamic and cultural festivals are deeply connected with biryani:

1. Eid-ul-Fitr & Eid-ul-Adha
We all Muslims have two religious festivals Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. After a month of fasting in Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated and eid lunch is incomplete without biryani. On Eid-ul-Adha after Qurbani, families cook biryani with the fresh meat to share with relatives, neighbors, and the poor.

2. Weddings & Valima
Wedding menu must have Biryani in Pakistan, people put differentkids of biryani to change menu. No shaadi menu is complete without it. The “walima biryani” is famous — spicy, fragrant, with aloo, and served to hundreds of guests. It represents abundance, celebration, and barkat.

3.Cultural and Religious Occasions

• Eid Milad-un-Nabi:
• Shab-e-Barat:
• *Independence Day *:
• New baby arrivals, aqiqah, housewarmings:

On these religious and cultural occasions biryani is distributed as _niaz/langar. It is made and shared with neighbors. Many families cook biryani as a patriotic feast.

biryani means “something happy happened”

Task 3: Festive Cultural significance(2 marks)

---

In our culture Chicken Biryani is more than food. It’s a symbol of celebration itself.

1. Joy

The smell of biryani means something good is happening. When the dum is opened and saffron steam rises that moment creates happiness. Biryani is make for Eid, weddings and birthdays because its rich color, aroma and taste turn a day into a festival. When people serve biryani they are saying today is special.

2. Togetherness

Biryani is never made for one person. It’s cooked in a pot meant to be shared. Families sit together on the dastarkhwan eating from one platter. At weddings hundreds of people eat the biryani. It unites rich and poor old and young. The way people layer rice and meat in biryani is like how Pakistani families have generations together.

3. Hospitality**

In Pakistan a guest is a blessing.. The highest form of respect is to serve biryani. If a guest arrives unexpectedly families say let’s make biryani. At Eid the first plate of biryani goes to neighbors and the poor before family eats. The effort that goes into making biryani. Marinating overnight frying onions, dum. Shows you value your guest. Biryani means you are important to us.

4. Tradition

Biryani tradition is more than centuries from Mughal kitchens to Karachi street stalls. Each family has a recipe passed from grandmother to mother to daughter. The techniques. Spices, dum using jaifal-javitri, Keeping heritage alive. Making biryani for Eid or walima is a ritual that connects us to our ancestors like biryani.

How it reflects peoples lifestyle the spirit of festivities and festive values:

Lifestyle: Pakistani life is all about community and sharing. People believe that blessings increase when shared. Biryani’s large portions, bold flavors and communal eating style mirror a lifestyle where food's social not individual. It shows that Pakistani people value time, effort and feeding others over convenience just like they value biryani.

Spirit of Festivities: Festivals in Pakistan mean doors, full houses and food for everyone. Biryani is like a celebration because it’s festive to look at. Rice, colorful garnish. Festive to smell and festive to share. You cannot have an Eid or wedding. Biryani makes it loud, fragrant and joyful, like Pakistani celebrations.

Festive Values:

Generosity: A pot of biryani feeds 20+ people. It teaches people to cook extra "in case someone comes," just like they do with biryani.

. Love: Dum cooking can’t be rushed. Like relationships biryani needs time to develop flavor. That’s what makes Pakistani biryani special.

Unity in Diversity: Sindhi biryani, Bombay biryani, Memoni biryani. Every region adds its touch yet all are biryani. It reflects how Pakistani culture embraces diversity under one identity, like, with biryani.

---

Task 4: Cost Breakdown & Presentation (1.5 mark)

Cost Breakdown:

Biryani is a festive food so it requires good quality basmati rice, good amount of meat and many spices so this recipe is slightly expensive than common recipe.

Here I'm sharing prices of the ingredients in steem and local currency pkr.

Ingredient	Quantity	Price (PKR)	Price (STEEM)
Chicken	1.5 kg	800	53.3
Basmati Rice	1 kg	450	30
Onions	500 g	80	5.3
Tomatoes	250 g	50	3.3
Yogurt	250 g	90	6
Biryani Spices	mentioned in post	120	8
Ginger-Garlic Paste	3 tbsp	40	2.8
Cooking Oil/Ghee	1 cup	180	12
Whole Spices + Saffron/Food Color	As needed	50	3.3
Total Cost	6 serving	1860	124
Cost Per Person	1 servings	310	**20.66 **

---

---

Presentation:

^{Final Presentation}

---

^Selfi

---

Poetic cultural cliche; Biryani	the taste of togetherness, the color of celebration, the soul of Pakistani hospitality._

---

Comments Links:

---

https://steemit.com/hive-188972/@suboohi/te9p0t

https://steemit.com/hive-188972/@suboohi/te9re6

---

That's all from my side and I have tried to compiled all the task given in the contest. At the end I would like to invite @roohiasif99, @sualeha and @max-pro for the contest. I hope you enjoyed while reading. Thanks for giving time to my post.

Best regards
@suboohi