My Encounters with the Biryani Bunch
My Biryani is Better than yours!!! So said Kolkatta to
Mumbai. And also Bengaluru to Chennai. Of course this argument between Lucknow
and Hyderabad had been going on for eternity.
But the Biryani Bunch were people who could look beyond borders and live comfortably with the realization that there was no single Better Biryani but a host of Completely Different Biryanis.
I had the opportunity to meet quite a few of them recently
when I was associated with Hyderabad’s Paradise: The World’s Favorite Biryani.
Paradise Biryani is the quintessential Hyderabadi Dum
Biryani. And has perhaps dictated and defined the taste of Biryani in Hyderabad
more than any other Biryani in the last 60 years or so.
In the course of my professional interaction with Paradise I
appreciated again that Consistency does not happen by Accident. It has to be
deliberately planned, fully committed to and strictly adhered to. And this is
exactly what the team at Paradise has been doing for six decades and more.
Which is what gives them the confidence to say that nothing about their Biryani
has changed in years.
But while the typical Hyderabadi’s image of Paradise Biryani
was a well cooked rice, a well marinated meat dish and a solid helping of
nostalgia, the same Biryani when consumed by the others in Chennai and
Bengaluru for instance was evaluated quite simply on taste and feel terms.
Nostalgia did not play any role in their opinion.
But foodies, in stark contrast to their reputation, are
foodies more at heart than at the stomach. And it was a delight to be part of a
festive group of people who just loved Biryani for what it was, and for the
pleasure it gave them.
Imagine in Hyderabad, my fellow food lovers, tasters,
bloggers and critics were a mix of students, IT Professionals, middle aged
businessmen, even an Airline Pilot. The Bengaluru crowd was younger and quite
diverse. Biharis and Kannadigas. A bunch of fun loving people who attacked the
Biryani with gusto. And had no qualms about getting their pictures taken while
unabashedly enjoying the experience.
In Chennai, the group had a well defined hierarchy. From
Queen Blogger to Novice the demarcation was clear but only for a second. The
moment the spices and flavours made their appearance, all differences were set
aside. Of course the difference between Chennai and the other locations was
that Lady TN was on her death bed on that particular day and tension was in the
air.
But as I saw the blogs and posts of different people I had
met in this 3 week journey I realized that instincts had no inhibitions and
reservations. And neither did they have anything to do with a regional bias. A
good biryani was respected as such and a good meal was enjoyed equally by all.
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