Biryani (Briyani) is a slow cooked dish prepared by infusing rice and or vegetables and meat with spices to form a mild yet fragrant composition. Prepared in kitchens from across Persia to South Asia and in South Africa too,the preparation of  biryani differs in both the use of ingredients and cooking techniques. Biryani was usually one of our Sunday lunch meals . Amma used turmeric or food coloring to color the rice and often made biryani milder than she did Curries and used biryani dhal (black lentils) which I have omitted from this recipe. She often made mutton biryani, chicken biryani or vegetable biryani. She rarely made fish biiryani while her tinfish biryani sometimes featured on the menu for weekday lunches.