Whenever we talk about Indian food, one of the first few names we instantly think of is biryani. That rich aroma, the burst of spices, the tenderness of the meat can make anyone go all gaga about biryani. But to our surprise, it is not only us who are interested about this dish of the Nawabs, rather biriyani, specifically Chicken Biryani, has turned out to be the most searched Indian food globally in 2019. A study by SEMrush found that chicken biryani had an average of 4.56 lakh searches each month.
As per the study, Butter Chicken was second on the list, followed by Samosa, Chicken Tikka Masala, Dosa, Tandoori Chicken, Palak Paneer, Naan, Dal Makhani, and chaat. Butter Chicken, which every person in Northern India swears by, was searched at an average almost four lakh times, while one of the most common and popular snacks, Samosa was searched an average of 3.9 lakh times. Chicken Tikka Masala was searched an average of 2.5 lakh times, the study showed.
The quintessential South Indian dish, dosa was searched an average of 2.28 lakh times. The next five foods on the list: Tandoori Chicken, Palak Paneer, Naan, Dal Makhani and chaat were also much searched.
According to an IANS report, Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications, SEMrush said, "We're not very surprised by these results because the Indian diaspora living overseas has carried its culinary preferences everywhere it has settled. As a significant number of those living overseas are Punjabi, it's unremarkable that food most associated with their culture is the most searched online." However, he added, "our study presents enterprising chefs living overseas and in India an opportunity because it reveals the size of the market for run of the mill and more exotic Indian foods. Restaurateurs who are willing to break the mould have an idea of the size of the market they can expect to cater to."
The study also shows that a significant global audience equates Indian food with Punjabi food. In the snacks, aromatic samosa and chaat ranked among the ten most-searched foods online. People who searched for these dishes were more familiar with North India (both samosa and chaat are among the most popular snacks in North India), as per the findings of the study.
Palak Paneer and Dal Makhani were the only vegetarian dishes on the list. The only bread on the list was the mighty naan, a bread that is usually eaten in restaurants.