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Buriyani is a rich rice dish that has come to figure as the traditional repast of the Moors in most of their ceremonies such as weddings. The dish is of Moghul origin and was borrowed by the Moors from Muslim India where it is known as biryani. The name for this dish of rice and all things nice prepared in ghee comes from a Persian loan in Hindustani, biryan which means ‘fried, roasted, broiled, parched, grilled’.
Dr.Kamal Magdon-Ismail, a scion of the Magdon-Ismail clan of Galle Fort through his good friend Dr.Firazath Hussain has just alerted me to another unique biryani dish. This dish is known as Karavadu Buriyani and peculiar to the Magdon Ismail family. The dish takes its name from Karavadu or dry salted fish, a word of Tamil origin which also gave rise to the Sinhala word Karavala.
The good doctor describes his family dish and its origins as follows:
“Zain Magdon – Ismail in the days of his youth traveled many a time to India by boat, trying a hand at the tea trade. Often the favorite menu on board was this sumptuous meal which he eagerly learned of, and introduced to the family back home.
Karavadu buriyani is devoured by as many as possible seated around a large sawan (plate). It consists of White Rice, Dry Fish Badung (pieces of karavadu fried with onion, green chille and spices), Beef Ambul Thial (a dry salty, sour, spicy roast slow cooked in all the ground ingredients), Kankun Leaves Fried, the beloved Dhal curry, also boiled Egg Salad topped with a Maldive Fish Sambol and last but not least the “piece de resistance “- Bombili Karavadu ( dried Bombay duck fish) deep fried, not forgetting of course, the humble pappadam. All the above mentioned are then layered onto the sawan under a hot bed of rice. Cut onions are deep fried in a bowl of ghee and poured over the whole meal to be savored and enjoyed by all”.
Dr. Firazath Hussain in a Personal Communication tells us of this dish: “I have had the pleasure of tasting the KB (Karavadu Buriyani) at Kamal’s homes, in Galle, Colombo and even in Muscat, Oman. It has been a great gastronomic experience savoring the KB which has always been paired with convivial sawan companions”.
The picture is of the unique Karavadu Biryani dish courtesy Dr. Kamal Magdon-Ismail
