Group · Herbs & spices
Biryani spices
Biryani spices go into a layered rice dish born in the Mughal kitchens and found all over South Asia. The blend is dominated by whole, fragrant spices (green and black cardamom, cinnamon, clove, Indian bay leaf, mace, cumin) rather than by colouring spices.
On nutrition facts, the entry shows 327 kcal per 100 g, 37.8 g of carbohydrate, 27.7 g of fibre and 12.6 g of protein, taken from the Ciqual entry « Spice (average food) ». Ciqual does not measure blends one by one, and at 2 g per person the difference is immaterial.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 327 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 1370 kJ |
| Protein | 12,6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 37,8 g |
| Fat | 7,9 g |
| Fibre | 27,7 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Manganese13,6 mg680 %
- Vitamin K1116 µg155 %
- Iron18 mg129 %
- Copper0,93 mg93 %
- Potassium1430 mg72 %
- Calcium479 mg60 %
- Magnesium186 mg50 %
- Vitamin E4,76 mg40 %
- Vitamin B9dietary folate equivalents26,3 µg
See the other 14 nutrients
- Vitamin B51,65 mg28 %
- Phosphorus190 mg27 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,53 g27 %
- Vitamin B60,31 mg22 %
- Selenium9,18 µg17 %
- Zinc1,63 mg16 %
- Omega-6 LA1,49 g15 %
- Vitamin B10,12 mg11 %
- Vitamin B31,52 mg10 %
- Vitamin B20,09 mg6 %
- Iodine9,12 µg6 %
- Vitamin A46,1 µg6 %
- Vitamin C4,29 mg5 %
- Vitamin D0,09 µg2 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
The rice decides everything. A biryani is made with basmati rice, rinsed until the water runs clear and then half cooked. Short-grain rice clumps together and the dish fails, whatever the spices.
Whole spices are removed, ground ones stay. A biryani blend often contains whole sticks and pods, which flavour the dish and are then set aside on the plate. Their real nutritional contribution is therefore nil, the same logic as the bouquet garni in a pot-au-feu.
The right amount. One level tablespoon, or 6 g, is enough for a biryani for six: about twenty kilocalories in total. The fat in the dish comes from the ghee or oil, never from the spices.
A light version that holds up. Replace half the ghee with plain yoghurt in the marinade, and load up on vegetables such as carrots, peas and cauliflower. A vegetarian biryani is not a second best: in its country of origin it is a recipe in its own right.
Storage. As whole pods and sticks, the blend keeps for two years; ground, for six months. If you buy it ground, buy a small amount.
Sources
Average nutrition values per 100 g, given for guidance (spices are eaten in small amounts).