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Regrettably, you will find a great deal of folks these days who are under the impression that pulao is exactly the same thing as biryani. This is false. Even though both dishes are mainly rice based and come from the Middle East or India, you will find a handful of dramatic differences that help make both dishes unique. Here is how you can recognize the difference between the dishes: 1) Layering - Whenever biryani is made the basmati rice must be cooked separately from the meat & masala. The basmati rice is boiled in it's own pot with a lot of water after which it needs to be drained using a colander a little bit before it's completely cooked through. The rice is then stacked in layers in a dish with the meat & masala (that has by now been cooked). Once the par boiled rice & meat / masala have been layered together, the dish is then baked in the oven. In a pulao, the grains of basmati rice are actually added straight in to the masala and meat which has already been cooking in a pot (usually on a stove top). Some water is then added and the entire dish is covered with a lid and left on a low heat right until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is fully cooked. This is what's called the absorption method of cooking rice (versus the draining approach used in biryani). 2) Strength of Spice - Biryani is normally much richer in spice level as compared to a pulao. On the whole the amount of spices & aromatics added to a biryani will likely be substantially greater than with a pulao. The key components which bring the spice are chili powder, garlic clove, ginger, and small green chilis. Pulao on the other hand does not include as large a volume of these ingredients and usually also balances spice with other components like dried raisins and nuts. Additionally, as a result of the layering in a biryani the quantity of spice on each bite may actually differ significantly. A first bite may be filled with masala and spices, while others may well find much more plain basmati rice. This is pretty different relative to a pulao where the degree of masala in each spoonful is made mostly uniform throughout the dish since the rice is simmered in the masala liquid. 3) Simplicity of Preparation - Pulaos are generally simpler dishes to put together since they're usually completed in a single pot and don't require the independent cooking and eventual combination and layering of plain rice and masala like a biryani does. Biryani will often be used as a center piece of a meal because it is so hearty. Pulao, due to the ease with which it can be prepared (as well as its levity compared to biryani), will usually only be an accompaniment to a dish - as opposed to a principal course. And so, I hope we have now clarified for you the main differences between biryani and pulao. Best of luck with your indian dishes and biryani recipe!
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