Eid 2022: Biryani is love, but how many have you tried? Here's where to get everything from Persian to Kongu styles in Chennai

Pots of biryani are always in demand in Chennai on any given day of the week. But as we countdown to Eid, rush hour might be a bit of an understatement come lunchtime. Ironically, this celebration dish — a staple for festival season and usually the fastest to disappear at a wedding buffet — began as a humble ‘one pot’ solution to feed undernourished soldiers at Mughal army barracks. Or so goes one popular origin story...

Shah Jahan’s beautiful queen Mumtaz Mahal, seeing a weakened troop, apparently instructed her chef to prepare a dish combining meat and rice for balanced nutrition. At the time, the rice was fried in ghee, without washing to lend it those nutty notes and to prevent the grains from clumping. This perhaps connects the dots to the name biryani, as birian in Persian translates to ‘fried before cooking.’ Also, a noteworthy tidbit from history is that saffron was one among the primary aromatics when this dish was first cooked over firewood, centuries ago, and has since, remained an indelible part of the recipe.

A saga in saffron
Nasrin Karimi who runs the popular Shiraz Art Café on ECR serves a Persian variant called Tahchin. The saffron influence is so pronounced that the grains are a golden yellow. “It’s the main ingredient and I always get Iranian saffron for our cooking, it’s the best,” Nasrin tells us her secret. Made using the dum style and with berries and dried fruits, pista and almond, she tells us, “It was only after it reached India, that spices and chillies were used.” 

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler of Awadh after being dethroned, is said to have brought the biryani to Calcutta in 1856, when he settled in Metiabruz, on the outskirts of Calcutta. The Nawab, whose indulgences are rather well known, sought pleasures involving all the five senses. Nothing describes this better than the Lucknowi or Awadhi biryani that he brought with him as a taste of home. 

This fine delicate flavour is attained by a play of spices such as star anise, cardamom, mace, saffron and bay leaf.  

“Also, the kewra/rose attars impart a lovely fragrant sweetness and we source these directly from Kolkata because they aren’t available in the South,” says Abhyuday Purkayastha of Bay Leaf, Gopalapuram which is a go-to restaurant for Bengali fare. The Kolkata biryani departs from its royal Awadhi origins in one distinct way — the presence of the humble aloo. “Bengalis and their love for potatoes is legendary,” Abhyuday smiles. Over a period of time, a boiled egg also made an appearance, alongside a large chunk of meat (unlike smaller pieces that are popular in Tamil Nadu).

Distinctions in dum
The Nizams of Hyderabad and Nawabs of Lucknow — both champions of biryani also had distinctions in technique that paved the way for entirely different palate experiences. We find out what some of these are from Chef Suraj Kumar who helms Novotel’s cloud kitchen The Degh Story, known for its fragrant Gosht Degh platter as well as a unique Bharwan Mirch ke Biryani (soya stuffed Bhavnagar chilli). “Awadhi biryanis are finished with precooked rice (pakki) and the meat gravy in a vessel under dum unlike the Hyderabadi biryani where the rice and the raw meat (kachi) is cooked together in the vessel.” This is apart from contrasting spice profiles: Awadhi biryani is made with mace, cardamom and saffron along with attar and kewra water lending it a delicate flavour and rich fragrance while Hyderabadi biryani features cardamom, chilli, brown onion, yoghurt and mint making it rustic and spicier.

The accompaniments resonate similar sentiments. Take for instance, the anar (pomegranate) raitha which pairs with an Old Delhi Nimona Mirch Pulao made with large salan mirch filled with pea purée as part of ITC hotel’s heavily researched Biryani and Pulao Collection inspired by heritage kitchens across the country. Meanwhile, Parsis enjoy a pairing of not-so-spicy masala dal with their Parsi mutton pulao (order yours from Delkhush Delicacies or FillBelly). Murad Shahuna of FillBelly tells us that this not-so-spicy masala dal is similar to the traditional dhansak (several types of lentils slow cooked with mutton and vegetables). Closer home, Tamil muslim biryani plates and regional preparations from Dindigul and Madurai come with an onion pachadi to balance all that masala and spice.

Southern spice
Moving down South, we like the story of the royal Perun Choru which dates all the way back to the Sangam literature of 300 BC, and according to food historian and chef Shri Bala, it even pre-dates the Mughals. At the time, the Pandyas and Cholas were sworn enemies but there was one kingdom that remained neutral — the Cheras. “Instead of taking sides, king Uthiyan Cheralathan cooked for both the armies. What his royal kitchen prepared was called Perun Choru,” she says. The latter literally translates to a big meal or feast. And biryani enthusiasts will be happy to note that this piece of history can be ordered from a menu now, courtesy Girish Subash who started the cloud kitchen Karigar last year. Long grains of Basmati are swapped with the short-grained seeraga samba rice, cooked with pepper, ghee and succulent chunks of mutton. And instead of the expected brinjal bharta, a tangy South Indian-style thokku steals the show.

More mainstream and well-established players like Kovai Alankar Vilas and Junior Kuppanna which are known for their Kongunadu biryani have now got their masala down to a science to keep the quality consistent and unwavering. Balachandar, director of Junior Kuppanna tells us that most of their spices, as well as ghee come from Erode which is also where their masala factory is. He won’t elaborate much more, telling us the specific ingredients are ‘top secret’ but some recipe digging later leads us to names like kalpasi (stone flower) and Maratti moggu (kapok buds) which are essential for that earthy aroma. 
This is quite different from the ‘wet’ version from Andhra Pradesh mastered by Nikhil Moturi (Naidu Biryani) from a recipe passed down by his grandmother. Cooked over charcoal, the smokey notes up the ante on flavour. Meanwhile, Chef Regi Mathew (Kappa Chakka Kandhari) has a delightful spin off on Kerala’s much-loved Thalassery biryani swapping out the rice for a fluffy, steamed puttu! 

Pandemic inspiration
Wrapping up this biryani trail is a relatively new variant inspired by one of the biggest influences on the Indian kitchen in recent times — the pandemic. Which led entrepreneur and longtime food connoisseur M Mohammed Ali to develop the ‘no contact’ Sahib’s Biryani back in 2020. “Each 2.5 kg biryani parcel is cooked and delivered in the same container, which largely removes room for contact. And the customer gets to break the dum,” says Ali. As a bonus, the biryani arrives via a car from an in-house team member (removing a third-party food aggregator) to ensure hygiene protocols aren’t broken en route.