Chittagong Signature · Fragrant Rice & Meat
Akhni Biryani
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: User:Hyderabadi biryani / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The name comes from 'yakhni', the Persian-derived word for a meat stock, because the rice is cooked in the meat's own broth instead of being layered with raw marinated meat like kacchi.
Beef or goat is cooked down with potatoes and whole spices, then the rice, often a short-grain aromatic variety such as chinigura, is cooked in the same pot so it absorbs the meat's spiced broth. It's a Chittagong wedding and festival staple, softer than the kacchi biryani style favored in Dhaka.
Why it's made this way: Chittagong, like Sylhet, has its own akhni tradition, cooked pulao-style in the meat's broth rather than layered raw, giving it a texture and aroma locals consider distinctly their own.
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