If you are asked to name a few signature food items of Dhaka city, Kachchi Biryani will be at the top of the list. For us Bangladeshis, Kachchi Biryani is another name for love. We will never get tired of eating it.

The dish's origins are up for debate, but most food historians agree that the precursor to South Asian biryani first emerged in Persia, probably as an unfussed mix of rice and meat, and travelled to the subcontinent through trade, pilgrimage, and conquest.

In 1610, after the Mughal rulers declared Dhaka as the provincial capital, Mughal subedars and other high officials arrived in Dhaka to manage the administration, and they brought — along with intrigue, grandeur, and tantrums — the biryani.

Back then, it is said, the biryani could be prepared only for members of the ruling family, and that too on special occasions. The cooks came from the west, where the Hyderabadi biryani had only just begun to spread its aroma around India.

Somewhere along the way, though, the Dhaka biryani developed its own characteristics, which set it apart from its Hyderabadi progenitor – and even from the Sindhi, Kozhikode, Kolkata, Lucknow and Tehari offshoots.

The Kachchi Biryani is perhaps the most pleasant and authentic cuisines of Bangladesh. So, what makes Dhakai Kachchi different from other schools of biryani?

The term "Kachchi" came from "Kacha", which means raw, referring to the ingredients being cooked raw and in layers. Layers of meat, rice, and potatoes are infused with delicious blends of aromatic spices to prepare the Dhakai Kachchi Biryani. The key is to get the right balance of spices – not too spicy, not to bland, just right with succulent pieces of meat and potatoes.

We made a list of the best five Kachchi Biryani in Dhaka by considering some special criteria. If we simply rank Kachchi Biriyanis according to their flavours and taste, it will be impossible to stop ranking even after reaching 100 on the list, as Dhaka is buzzing with local and branded stores of Kachchi Biryani that offer not only tasty but also many varieties of the dish, such as Bucket Biryani, Motka Biryani, Dum Biryani, etc.

So, we are considering here only Dhakai-style Kachchi Biryanis and reviewing the famous and trending Kachchi places.

We are only keeping Kachchi Biryanis which are made with Basmati rice on this list. That is why we are skipping some of the amazing ones from the list like Hazi Biryani, Star Kabab, Royal Hotel and Restaurants, Hazi Nanna Biryani, and Fakruddin.

We tasted around 20 Kachchi Biryanis in the city, including in brand shops and local stores. We did not consider the environment of the restaurant and focused on the taste only.

Here are the top five Kachchi Biriyanis which will give you the royal taste under Tk300.

5. Bashmoti Kachchi (Tk260)