Breyani is a signature dish of South Africa; we have verified places to eat it in Cape Town. The Cape Malay layered rice dish: marinated meat, brown lentils, fried potato and onion stacked under parboiled basmati, sealed and steamed in its own liquid. Start with where to eat Breyani in Cape Town.

Breyani · Cape Town

The Cape Malay layered rice dish: marinated meat, brown lentils, fried potato and onion stacked under parboiled basmati, sealed and steamed in its own liquid. Standard at Eid and family tables.

Breyani is the Cape's name for biryani, the layered rice dish that reached South Africa with enslaved and indentured people from the Indian subcontinent and the Indonesian archipelago. What separates the Cape version from its South Asian parents is the brown lentils layered with the rice, the fried potato and the local masala blends sold by the scoop in Bo-Kaap and Rylands. The meat is marinated in yoghurt or buttermilk with ginger, garlic, cardamom, turmeric and cloves before layering, and the pot is sealed so nothing escapes. Lamb, chicken, frikkadel, mince and tuna versions have all been added since.

Where to eat in Cape Town:

Where to eat Breyani in Cape Town: the editor picks

Book food experiences in Cape Town

See all 816 bookable experiences in Cape Town

More dishes across South Africa