While the lockdown may have inspired everyone to make their own meals, the biryani emerged the "most ordered dish" in India. Sunday mid-day asks, whats with its appeal?
The mamsam mutton biryani
Bengaluru
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Mohan Reddy
'You can have it for breakfast'
In 1984, Mohan Reddy was 17 years old when his father Krishna Reddy started Nagarjuna on Residency Road. The family had moved from their village in Nellur so that his brother could go to engineering college. Only a few dishes from back then continue to be on the menu of the restaurant, that now has 10 branches. "We came from an agro coastal village. Bangalore, at the time, had very few Andhra eateries. So, my father took a chance," Reddy, 55, remembers. "We served Andhra-style meals on plaintain leaves, offering two fried items, two gravies in chicken, mutton and vegetarian options, along with rice and chapati." The dish that has stayed put is the Andhra biryani. In the lockdown, its sale shot up by 50 per cent, says Reddy. "Many mistake it for the Hyderabadi biryani, which has Mughal influences. Ours is not layered; every morsel of rice carries the same flavour. The rice is cooked 25 per cent before the dum, unlike 60 per cent in other biryanis. It's so light that you can even eat it for breakfast."
The mutton biryani with salan
Hyderabad
Shahnoor Jehan
'Mine carries cream, and is less fiery'
Fifty-six-year-old Shahnoor Jehan's ancestry can be traced to Yemen, but she considers herself a true-blue Hyderabadi. Two generations of her family have made the state their home. "My maternal grandmother is the daughter of Sultan of Mukalla erstwhile Yemen and my grandfather, Nawab Ahmed Baig, was the son of late Shahzore Jung. Our cooking style is a mix of Indian and Yemeni," says Jehan, who runs a catering service called Khassa. But, she never thought of putting biryani on the menu. "There are so many in Hyderabad," she smiles into the phone, adding, "I only make it on special orders. "Most of what you get is overtly spicy and commercialised. Main kum angaar pe banati (I cook it on slow flame) and the style varies in how you layer the rice. I keep the rice fine, just like the way my mother and nani taught me. I add saffron and cream and don't make it too fiery," she says, leaving us with a nugget: Biryani equals Hyderabadi biryani. "You can't have a veg biryani because it will be a pulao. An authentic mutton biryani comes only from Hyderabad, specifically made with spices from the region."
Chicken biryani by Khaalaa's Kitchen
Delhi
Shahla Ahmed
'It's not for purists'
IF there are nine verified biryanis—Hyderabadi, Dindigul (Tamil Nadu), Ambur (Tamil Nadu), Bhatkali (Karnataka), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Kolkata, Malabar (Kerala), Sindhi (Pakistan), Bombay (Maharashtra)—I want my biryani to be the tenth," says Shahla Ahmed of Khaalaa's Kitchen in Gurgaon. Ahmed quit her advertising job with an MNC to follow her passion for food. "I was always cooking for my homies, and I learnt to make killer mutton biryani from dad. He would drag me to the kitchen." At first, she took weekend orders, and later tied up with Lolchef and InnerChef. "I do a zaffrani-layered dum biryani with strong homemade spices. The masalas remind you of the Keralite moplah and Hyderabadi versions, but I believe mine stands out for its unique aroma. My version is a balance between dry and wet. While I usually offer raita and salan on the side, customers prefer it as is. I tell the purists, if you want an authentic, classic version, do not order my biryani."
The Lucknowi mutton biryani
Lucknow
Chef Mujeeb ur Rehman
'Our version is similar to pulao'
The biryani takes a pulao turn, and the grains are so distinct, if you scatter them, they fall like pearls," chef Mujeeb ur Rehman narrates over a phone call from Lucknow. His grandfather, Abdul Raheem, was a member of the royal Rampur kitchen of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. "The biryani came to India from the Mughals and travelled across the country, from Delhi, changing its flavour course depending on climatic conditions, availability of ingredients and taste palates." Unlike the Mughlai biryani, the Lucknowi version is like a pulao. The masalas don't wrap around the meat but seep into every grain. "Dudh ka istmal zyada hota hai [We use more of milk]. Ours is a refined version. The nawabs were passionate about their food, took a rustic dish and gave it some finesse."
A combo package by Biryani by Kilo
Mumbai
Vishal Jindal and Kaushik Roy
'We take biryani seriously'
After working as a private equity entrepreneur in New York and Singapore, Vishal Jindal wanted to put his passion for food into business. Five years ago, he teamed up with Kaushik Roy, a veteran in the F&B industry, and together they launched Biryani By Kilo, a delivery model of authentic and fresh biryanis. "The US gave us burger and pizza, so, we were looking for that one Indian item that could go on the world map," says Jindal. Their idea was simple: dum-cooked biryani made fresh on order in handis. "Biryani has been on delivery menus for long, but those are frozen and reheated. Koi shiddat aur imaandari se nahin bana raha tha [no one was making it with passion and honesty at the time]. Ours is made on order, and takes 30 minutes to dum cook and 60 minutes to deliver. We send it out in eco-friendly reusable handis," he adds. BBK has 40 outlets across India and a 100-crore annual turnover. With five outlets in Mumbai and a sixth one coming up in Thane, the brand has started making 90 per cent of pre-pandemic revenues across India. "We are purists, and take our biryani and Nizami menu seriously."
Some of Mumbai's best
Iktara /// In her version of the raan biryani, chef Amninder Sandhu slow cooks a whole leg of baby lamb to succulent perfection.
Lucky Restaurant /// Available at their Bandra and Goregaon outposts, the mutton biryani is juicy and "mainstream". They say the recipe hasn't changed since the restaurant opened in 1938.
Butler and Bayleaf /// The meat in the mutton biryani is slow cooked with brown onion and yellow chilli powder. Divine.
Go Biryan /// Order from their light to heavy portions named Prince (serves 1), King, Emperor, Royal Family and Kingdom (serves 10-12 people). They serve a variety ranging from raan to vegetarian Afghani biryani at their six outlets.
Borivali Biryani Centre /// Run by a Gujarati family, BBC is one of the oldest and most well-recognised places for biryani in the city. They started out with a limited menu, but are now famous for their chicken biryani, fish biryani and mutton tava rice.
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