BENGALURU: Biryani used to be a royal affair, but not anymore, opines Raj Keshavraj, founder of “Briyani for Life” meetup group. He adds, “It used to be cooked only on special ocassions at home, but not anymore.”
Raj has been researching on the delicacy for a while now and initiated a meetup for biriyani lovers in the city. There about 100 members in the group he has made.
He says, “I wanted to try different varieties of biryani in the city.” He found an alternative to Hyderabadi Biriyani called Donne Biryani in the city. This one is a local rice dish served on a banana leaf. “The ingredients, flavours and aroma are completely different. You need to hunt down the restaurants for its authentic taste,” he says. The Shivaji Military Hotel and Govindrao biryani are good places for it, he adds.
Raj held the first meetup on August 20 for seven members. “We tried Bamboo biryani. It’s the second most popular biryani after the Hyderabadi biryani,” he says. The dish is available only at few places. “After research, we saw good ratings for this biryani at Broadway - The Gourmet Theatre,” he says.
One of the members Irene Metilda, an entrepreneur, says this group helped her socialise over biryani. The foodie says, “I love biryani and can never get bored of it. Also, it helped me connect with people who share similar interests.” She adds that her mother’s a good cook and nothing can beat the biryani that she cooks.
Raj says he plans to hold a meetup once every month. The next one will be most likely on a third Sunday of September where the group will explore Parsi and Nawabi biryani. “I believe Bengaluru is the only place in India where you get all varieties of biryani,” he says.
Top 5 Biriyani spots
1. Nagarjuna, JP Nagar
2. Shivaji Military Hotel, Jayanagar
3. Kritunga Restaurant across the city
4. Hyderabad Chefs, Marathahalli
5. Meghana Biryani across the city