Tag: biryani

Discover Best Biryani Stop 2: Zamindar @ Kalyan Nagar

Let me not start by being apologetic anymore….My hunt does not stop at what is defined by the technocrats as ‘Biryani‘ as there is no replacement for good taste and mastery in making the flavors blend in a subtle way. Stop 2 and we are spoilt for options on this street in Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore which has a dozen biryani places. We circled….literally, for almost 45 minutes before we zeroed in on Zamindar. The decision was well rewarded as our guest participant, my wife was not disappointed – she’s vegetarian and I am yet to find Vegetarian Biryani. She busies herself with God knows what chores and I am left with the menial jobs of driving my kids for their weekend coaching sessions. She had an amazing veg thali…….. Let me also be honest here, it did make me have second thoughts. I had to bribe myself with the thought of doing a Thali Blog sometime to focus back into the realism…

Back to business and keeping the Thali blog some other time, I ordered fusion… Mutton Avakkai Biryani and Chicken Boneless Biryani for the kids. The avakkai (mango pickle) was very mildly infused into a very robust Dum preparation and it not only made it a bit tangy but also made me twitch with the kick of the mango piece. I must tell you it was bliss… if you know what Andhra pickles are and what they can do in combination with rice, in this case actually a good pulao. The chicken boneless biryani was good but not over powering but you can also find it probably in many other places. Last but not the least; the hosts are amazing and they served us payasam at the end. On another day I would shrug and say “who eats payasam after a splendid biryani”. I am glad I was lazy and much more slower to respond than probably a few years back or else I would have missed it. Actually on 2 portions of it 🙂

Overall we got another thumbs up from Sia and 2 in 2 is a great beginning. Wishful thinking…but hope we really only discover the best. Believe me at some point I may change my rating for Bangalore from mediocre to good!

  • Avvakai Mutton Biryani
  • Chicken Boneless Biryani
  • Chicken Boneless Biryani

Some well wishers gave a bunch of suggestions and I used my privilege to let most of them pass by. I don’t want to rate on a scale as food is a experience that econometric can never do justice to. Math simply lacks this capability. More myth breakers to follow next week and hopefully we retain our 100% score. See you soon…..

Best Biryani Quest ….boarding point

As the title says, finally on-board the quest to taste and satiate the need and find the “Best Biryani”. Many a TV anchor or a celebrity chef will take you right from the streets of Hyderabad to the Avadhi Mahals for their recipe and page 3 chit-chat. Sometimes I wonder how strong is their urge to be heard, seen and their story being told. I chose a contrary path….to ambush the eateries some acclaimed and some just by the way side. To accompany me I have my seven year old daughter Sia (and Reyaansh who sometimes is a pile on… ) who will not use descriptive adjectives like “succulent pieces of lamb” or the “perfect harmony of spices”. She’ll just say – “Yummy” or “Not Nice” and you know what the review was. She leaves making the review palatable…. literally to me….pun intended.

Our first stop to kick start this was at Hyderabad Biryani Palace in Kalyan Nagar – next to GRT Gold Showroom, Bangalore. By the way we plan to do like a 10 eat out per locality as baseline before moving to a new one. So, well give you a lot to discover if you haven’t been the experimental type.

True to its name, the Biryani was yummy. Made me nostalgic of ‘Shadab’ at Hyderabad. Go for it if you are around and you wont be disappointed. Good news is its Biryani and not Pulao as many a connoisseur would call it. I remain incorruptible for flavor rather than being a pseudo perfectionist; so not much a difference. For next time we promise to encroach upon some of these myths 🙂 See you soon…..