Fit for a nawab

Chicken biryani and raita

Here's a controversial opinion to start your day with. Looking for an authentic biryani with real quality in Mumbai is a bit like looking for a vada pav in Nagaland - you'd be lucky to find one. There are a few old favourites, of course, like Lucky Restaurant or Jaffer Bhai's. But outside of these, many places serve what is essentially a pulao with ghastly red and green food colouring, masquerading as a biryani. You don't get the sense that the meat and rice have been layered while cooking. The pleasant whiff of rose water is non-existent. And if you're expecting strands of saffron in the dish, you might as well expect Nawab Wajid Ali Shah to return back from the dead.

Chef Lynston Correa

It was thus a pleasant surprise when we dug into the chicken biryani and raita that was part of the weekend menu at Farm to Table, a new home-based cooking venture in Orlem that chef Lynston Correa has started, after the cruise liner where he previously worked was docked due to the pandemic. The fragrance of rose water wafted out of the dish even before we'd had a bite. The meat was tender without losing its chewiness completely. The egg was cooked to perfection. But the best part was that the flavour of the meat was embedded into the rice grains, an integral aspect of a truly good biryani.

Also Read: The forever kebab

But it's not just biryani that the chef serves. The menu changes every weekend, with dishes including chicken Chettinad from Tamil Nadu and butter chicken from Delhi displaying his diversity. We can't vouch for the authenticity of these, though, since chicken biryani was the only item he was serving on the day we ordered from him. But if we had to judge his skills based on just that one experience, we'd say that even Nawab Wajid Ali Shah would smack his lips if he did indeed come back from the dead.

Call: 8652723623
Cost: Rs 300 for the chicken biryani