Haji biryani (also known as Hajir biryani) is one of the oldest restaurants in the heart of

Old Dhaka Old Dhaka ( bn, পুরান ঢাকা, Puran Dhaka) is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar ( bn, জাহাঙ্গীরনগ� ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, selling

chevon Goat meat or goat's meat is the meat of the domestic goat ''(Capra aegagrus hircus)''. The common name for goat meat is simply "goat", while that from young goats can be called ''capretto'' (It.), ''cabrito'' (Sp. and Por.) or ''kid''. In South ...

biryani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. It is made with Indian spices, rice, and usually some type of meat (chicken, beef, goat, lamb, prawn, fish) or in some cases without any meat, and so ...

(dish made with highly seasoned rice and goat's meat). The restaurant also sells

borhani Borhani, ( bn, বোরহানী) is a traditional yogurt-like drink from Bangladesh. Borhani is made from sour doi, green chilli, mustard seeds, black salt, coriander and mint. It is considered by some to be a type of lassi. It is very commo ...

(a salted mint drink made of yogurt) and soft drinks. In 1939 the restaurant was started as a roadside food corner by a person named Haji Mohammad Hossain. Later on the business took dramatic change and became part of the culture of Dhaka city.

History

The business was started on 1939 by a cook of Hadhrami Arab descent named Haji Mohammad Hossain. After Haji Mohammad Hossain died in 1992, his son, Haji Mohammad Golam Hossain took over and continued the family business without making any changes in style and tradition. By the passage of time Haji Mohammad Golam became tired by running the family business and finally handed over the business to his son, Haji Mohammad Shahed. The dish bears resemblance to the Yemeni

Haneeth Haneed , also known as ''hanida'' ( ar, الحنيذ) is a slow-roasted lamb dish from Yemen, It is also a shared dish in places like Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and parts of Somalia and Ethiopia. It is very popular in Yemeni restaurants around th ...

Location

The Haji biryani has three branches. One is in

which is the main branch, one is in

Motijheel Motijheel ( bn, মতিঝিল) is a ''thana'' (administrative division) of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is at the heart of the city (the General Post Office is considered the zero point of Dhaka). Motijheel is the major business and commercial hub ...

, In Old Dhaka, it is located at 70 Kazi Alauddin Road, Nazira Bazar.

Recipe

The recipe includes highly seasoned

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

mustard oil Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent essential oil also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and extracting the resulting vol ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

, doi (yogurt),

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...

and small amount of

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

(either

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

or buffalo). The recipe has been handed over the founder of the restaurant to his next generation. Haji Mohammad Shahed claimed that, “I have never changed anything, not even the amount of salt”.

References

External links

* {{facebook, Hazibiriyani Old Dhaka Restaurants in Dhaka Restaurants in Bangladesh Bangladeshi cuisine

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

Bangladeshi culture

History

Location

Recipe

See also

References

Further reading

External links