Pakistani Biryani: Rivals Fight For Customers With Meat, Rice, and Spice

For Indian food historian Pushpesh Pant, biryani served in South Asia's melting-pot cities such as Karachi is a reminder of shared heritage.

Eying each other across a stream of traffic, rival Pakistani biryani joints vie for customers, serving a fiery medley of meat, rice and spice that unites and divides South Asian appetites.

Both sell a niche version of the dish, steeped in the same vats, with matching prices and trophies commending their quality.

But in Karachi, where a biryani craze boomed after the creation of Pakistan, it is the subtle differences that inspire devotion.