Biryani vs Pilau vs Fried Rice: What Is the Difference?
They all arrive as rice with things in it. They are not the same dish. Here is how to tell them apart and what to order.
Three rice dishes turn up on South Asian menus constantly, and most people order them almost at random. They are genuinely different things, and knowing which is which will make you order much better.
Biryani
Biryani is layered, not stirred. The rice is partly cooked separately, the meat is cooked separately in a marinade, and then the two are layered in a pot and finished together, sealed, so the steam does the last of the work. That is why the top of a good biryani looks different from the bottom, and why every scoop should give you both.
The result is aromatic rather than aggressive. Saffron, whole spices, long-grain rice. It is the safest and most impressive thing on almost any menu, and the reason it dominates catering.
Pilau
Pilau, or pulao, is cooked all together in one pot. Rice, stock, spices and often meat go in and cook as one thing. It is simpler, milder, and more of an everyday dish. Where biryani is a production, pilau is dinner.
Neither is better. They are different jobs. Pilau is what you eat with a curry. Biryani can be the whole meal.
Fried rice
Completely different lineage. Fried rice starts with rice that is already cooked, usually day-old, and stir-fries it hard and fast at high heat with egg, vegetables and protein. The technique is Chinese, and in Sri Lanka and Toronto it arrives through the Hakka Chinese tradition, which is its own excellent thing.
Which should you order?
If it is your first time at a South Asian restaurant: biryani. If you are ordering a curry and want something to eat it with: pilau or plain rice. If you want something fast, savoury and comforting: fried rice.
For catering, biryani wins almost every time. It scales, it holds heat, it looks generous, and nobody has ever been disappointed by it.
Order it in Scarborough
We are a family-run halal Sri Lankan and Indian kitchen in Scarborough. Our biryani is layered properly, which takes longer and is worth it. See biryani catering in Toronto, or browse the full catering menu.
Taste the difference yourself: our chicken biryani and Sri Lankan fried rice are both on the menu, and you can order online for delivery or pickup.
Two Sri Lankan rice dishes that fit none of the three
Ghee rice sits closest to pilau. The rice is cooked in ghee with whole spices, often with a little coconut milk, and comes out fragrant but plain enough to carry a table of curries. In Sri Lankan Muslim homes it is the rice for celebrations, served with a rich meat curry, a sweet curry such as pineapple or mango, and pickles.
String hopper biryani takes steamed rice-flour noodles, breaks them up and treats them the way you would treat rice in a biryani. Lighter in the stomach, very good at events. We make it only as the String Hopper Biryani Combo, $29 per person with a 20-person minimum.
Side by side
- Heat: pilau and ghee rice are mild. Biryani is warm and aromatic. Fried rice is as hot as whatever comes with it. Ours comes with chilli chicken, chilli beef or chilli tiger shrimp.
- Eat it with: biryani wants a raita or yogurt sambal and something sour, such as acharu. Ghee rice wants two or three curries. Fried rice is a meal on its own.
- Next day: fried rice reheats best in a hot pan. Biryani does better covered, with a spoon of water, in the oven or microwave.
What it costs on our menu
Biriyani is $12. Fried Rice is $20 with chicken, $22 with beef, $22 with mixed seafood and $23 with shrimp. Ghee Rice Combo (Beef) is $23 and comes with beef kurma, fried chicken, mango curry, potato milk curry, kaliya, masi sambol and acharu.
Rice questions we hear a lot
Is leftover rice safe?
Yes, if it is cooled and refrigerated within about two hours and eaten within a day or two. Rice left out overnight is the one leftover not worth the risk.
Which one is best for kids?
Ghee rice. It is mild, buttery and easy to pair with a gentle curry.