Daawat Biryani Kit Review – 30 Minutes To Biryani Heaven

Biryani isn’t just food, it’s an emotion. The layers of flavor, varieties of texture, and the invigorating aroma that gets you drooling, biryanis don’t just fill up your tummy, but your soul too. 

Daawat, one of India’s renowned rice brands, recently introduced their biryani kits. These comprise the rice, paste (gravy), spices, and seasonings, so all you need to do is cook and savor. For our Daawat Biryani Kit review, we ordered two of the three variants – Lucknowi and Hyderabadi.

How close does this come to the authentic counterpart? Size of the grain, flavor profile, cooking time and convenience  were some of our prime parameters. 

Here’s all you need to know about our Daawat Biryani Kit review.

What we were looking for while reviewing Daawat Biryani Kit?

The authentic flavor, the bold aroma of spices and seasoning, the texture and appearance of the rice grains, and the overall convenience were all considered to produce a fair review. 

1. Flavor

Lucknowi and Hyderabadi are characteristic flavor profiles. While Lucknowi (Awadh) flavors are known to be complex yet mild, Hyderabadi cuisine is typically higher on the spice quotient. 

But when it comes to biryanis, Lucknowi Biryani is relished for the delicate flavors and rich fragrance, whereas that of Hyderabad features a strong blend of spices and flavors. 

2. Texture 

Crunchy but chewy veggies, tender chicken/paneer, and fluffy, soft rice that are well-cooked but retain the ‘bite’- these are the textures we look for in a biryani. 

Since, rice is the base, its texture can make or break the entire dish. Fluffy (khila-khila) or sticky? Size of the grain were also checked.  

How was our experience with Daawat Biryani Kits?

3. Aroma

Good quality Basmati rice emits an innate floral aroma. Spices and seasonings impart warm, earthy aromas. We gauged the aroma of the biryani pre and post-cooking. 

4. Convenience

Biryani preparation is a long process, there’s no denying. Peeling, chopping veggies, prepping the meat, boiling rice, precisely adding the seasoning and spices, assembling the dish, phew!

Considering this Biryani kit comes with all components, how did it fare on the convenience scale? The time and additional ingredients required were considered too. 

5. Other Parameters  

The economic value, packaging, shelf life were the non-tasting parameters we talk about. 

After thoroughly reading the instructions mentioned on the recipe card, we prepared the biryanis. These were served warm with curd that was seasoned with the Burani Raita seasoning. 

The following section discusses how we made the biryani and our overall experience. 

Price & Packaging

There are four clear pouches inside the carton. The carton looks quite attractive and has shades of blue, beige, and gold. The pouches hold Basmati rice, biryani paste, Burani raita seasoning, and whole spices. The net weight is 334 grams and this kit is priced at Rs 149/-. It has a shelf life of 

Main Ingredients

Biryani Paste- Curd, water, dehydrated onion, edible vegetable oil (sunflower), edible common salt, spices and condiments (cardamom, fennel, star anise, mace, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, black pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaf), garlic, ginger, rose water, kewra water, flavor enhancers (INS 627, INS 631), turmeric powder, acidity regulator (INS 330), saffron (0.01), and hydrolyzed vegetable protein (soya).

Whole Spices- Cinnamon sticks, green cardamom (0.2%), bay leaf (0.2%), clove (0.1%), and black pepper (0.1%)

Raita Seasoning- Spices & Condiments (cumin, chilli, coriander, dried ginger), maltodextrin (corn), natural and nature-identical flavoring substances, edible common salt, cane sugar, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion powder, black salt, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (soya), dried mango powder, dehydrated parsley, and anticaking agent (INS 551). 

How we made it

This biryani kit calls for basic pantry items that are almost always available. Oil, salt, veggies (or choice of protein) and water were needed in addition to the kit. 

We boiled the rice only partially as it would be cooked again in the layered stage. We added the whole spices at the stage. While the rice was boiling, we used the recommended quantity of veggies and cooked it with the biryani paste.

We used Safal Frozen Vegetables that reduced the time and effort needed and made this process a bit more convenient. The biryani paste and veggies were sauteed until the veggies turned slightly tender. We added 150 ml water and let the contents cook until oil started separating. 

Once both components were semi-cooked, we started layering them in the dum. We also added some fried onions between layers. 

As for the raita, the entire pack of seasoning was added to 300 grams of whisked curd. 

Aroma & Appearance

The long-grained Basmati rice had the classic floral aroma that aged rice has. The whole spices looked dull but the fragrances were bold and unmissable. 

The Burani raita seasoning had a garlicky aroma with notes of red chilly. It had an amber appearance, a slightly burnt tone. When mixed into the whisked curd, we could see specs of the same hue in the raita.

Taste & Texture 

We were impressed. Not only was this fairly easy to prepare, but the taste and texture were surprisingly good. ‘Three steps, 30 minutes’ this Biryani kit did complete justice to these claims.

The flavors were mild as expected with an intense, inviting aroma. This was not overly spicy but was full of flavors. The chilli sign on the pack is an indicator of the spice level. It was marked one on four, and the spice level was mild, as expected. The flavor and fragrance of kewra was sensed mildly. The fried onions added a desirable meaty taste and texture. The raita seasoning added a lovely flavor and tasted fresh overall. 

Price & Packaging

The price and packaging are identical to the first variant. 

Main Ingredients

Biryani Paste- Water, curd, edible vegetable oil (sunflower), onion (fresh and dehydrated), tomato, edible common salt, green chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, spiced and condiments (cardamom, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, clove, mace, bay leaf, black cardamom (0.04%), nutmeg and black pepper), kewra water, rose water, flavor enhancers (INS 627, INS 631), red chilli powder (0.5%), coriander seed powder (0.4%), turmeric powder, spice extract (paprika), flavors- natural and nature identical, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (soya), and acidity regulator (INS 330)

Ingredients for whole spices and raita seasoning remains the same. 

How we made it

The cooking process was exactly the same, only here we did add some chillies. 

Aroma & Appearance

The rice grains were long and fragrant. Like the first variant, the whole spices looked dull here too, but the aroma was bold. Green cardamom had the strongest presence in terms of aroma. 

Taste & Texture 

The overall flavor of this biryani stayed true to the Hyderabadi claim. In addition to this, the spice was also balanced as indicated on the pack (¾). We liked how despite being a packaged product, there were no artificial/industrial flavors. Ginger-garlic, tomatoes, and Indian masalas- these were sensed on the palate and nose but were in a favorable sync. No one ingredient was felt overpowering another. 

Textural variations were just like the above variant we tried. 

Here are some interesting FAQs on Daawat Biryani kit

Daawat Biryani Kits were nothing short of a delightful surprise. Mishry was in awe to savour such fresh-tasting, flavorful biryanis that came from pouches. 

Considering a 149 Rupee pack makes a biryani sufficient for 3-4 people, this is surely a value for money purchase.

Be it convenience, aroma, or flavors- we had a positive experience. 

Would you try these biryanis?

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.