Biryani is one of the most iconic dishes to emerge from the Mughal Empire, which spanned across Pakistan and Western India from the 16^th to 19^th Centuries. With roots in Persia, it blossomed in South Asia, and then travelled the world on the wings of diaspora, and now local variations be found everywhere from the UK to Africa, the Middle East to the Caribbean. 

It is both essentially simple: a layered mix of rice, meat and spices, and beguilingly complex with sophisticated aromas and textures working in harmony. It also scales well, making it a popular choice for celebrations and festivals, or feeding the Mughal Imperial Army, where legend suggests it originated before being refined in the royal kitchens. Dum means to ‘to keep food on slow fire’ and refers to the sealed-pot, slow-cooking technique that infuses each grain of rice with the flavours of the ingredients and aromas of the spices it is cooked with. 

Every region, sometimes even every household, has their own unique, distinctive blend of spices that defines its biryani. Nasir Zuberi, inspired by his mother’s kitchen, will walk you through all the steps to make a perfect dum biryani in this fun, hands-on class. He will share the recipes and techniques for his homemade spice blend used to make the chicken curry, cooked with onions and tomatoes, that is layered with basmati rice before being sealed and finished over low heat. 

Nasir will also demonstrate a small vegetarian biryani, along with two simple side dishes — a cucumber, mint and yogurt raita, and onion, tomato and mint salad — which beautifully complements the biryanis’ rich aroma of saffron and spices. Participants will get to partake in the biryanis made in class, as well as take home a sachet of homemade homemade biryani masala. 

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$60 + HST

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Nasir Zuberi was born in Karachi, and successfully ran a catering business there during the 1990s. He’s now based in Toronto and running his meals, catering business, Enze’s Meals. He has passion for food and traditional home-style recipes using fresh ingredients and homemade spices. IG @enzes_bakes

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NOTE: This is our first series of post-lockdown, in-person, indoor events, and will be open to those who are double vaxxed. I am asking for participants to please submit via email and/or print out and bring their vaccination receipts – these are very easy to obtain online and are a prerequisite for attending. I understand that there may be some people who have been unable to get vaccinated for various legitimate reasons, but I would respectfully ask those people to please wait until we are in the clear before participating in this kind of group activity.

In the event of a change in the local status of the COVID situation, we reserve the right to cancel this class at any time, in which case all participants will receive a full refund.