The name biryani or biriani (Nastaliq بریانی ;Devanagari बिरयानी) is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) (بریان) which means "fried" or "roasted". It was spread through out the Middle East and South Asia by Muslim travellers and merchants. Biryani is a family of primarily South Asian dishes made from a mixture of spices, rice (usually basmati), meat/vegetables and yogurt. There are many kinds of biryanis and each kind has a uniqueness about it. Pre-mixed biryani spices from different commercial names are easily available in markets these days, which reduces the preparation time though the taste differs considerably.