TIRUCHY: Despite a nearly 10% price hike this Deepavali, vaankozhi (turkey) biryani, a festive speciality that has become an integral part of Deepavali food culture in Tiruchy, continues to draw food lovers, with restaurants and cloud kitchens reporting steady demand.
Eateries have raised prices citing higher costs of turkey meat, seeraga samba rice, ghee and other ingredients. Increased transportation charges for procuring turkey birds, largely from farms in Namakkal, have further pushed up costs. Across the city, prices have increased from Rs 2,500-2,799 last year to Rs 2,800-3,000 per bucket (one kilogram of raw rice with ingredients, excluding meat) at several restaurants, while premium eateries charge nearly Rs 4,000.
A Murugan, owner of Arumugam Biryani in Palakkarai, among the first food joints in the city to introduce turkey biryani nearly 25 years ago, said the tradition initially gained popularity during Christmas before becoming a Deepavali favourite and later extending to New Year celebrations.
“While turkey biryani is prepared for just a day or two during Christmas and New Year, Deepavali sales extend to nearly 10 days, beginning a week before the festival and continuing for two days after it. Over the years, turkey has become closely associated with Deepavali in the city,” he said. The outlet’s accompaniments, particularly vaankozhi vellai kuruma (turkey white gravy), also enjoy considerable demand.
Murugan said preparing the delicacy involved additional labour, as turkey meat takes longer to cook than regular poultry, while cleaning and processing the bird is equally tedious. “We need additional workers to handle the preparation. It is a time-consuming process, but customers look forward to this speciality every Deepavali,” he added.
Mohammed Hakkim, founder of KMS Hakkim Biryani, which operates several outlets in the city, said the price revision was driven largely by transportation and ingredient costs rather than a significant increase in live bird prices.
“Premium turkey meat that cost around Rs 750/kg is now priced at nearly Rs 800. Seeraga samba rice, which we use for our pesavu-style biryani, has increased from Rs 100-140 to Rs 150-180/kg. Ghee, curd and other ingredients have also become costlier,” he said. Consequently, the price of one padi of biryani, prepared using one kilogram of raw rice and sufficient for around 10 people, has increased from Rs 3,100 last year to Rs 3,300 this year. Chicken and mutton biryani prices have also been revised.
Hakkim said corporate pre-orders from regular customers purchasing biryani for their employees remained strong, although retail enquiries were yet to pick up. Despite growing interest in mandi-style biryani, turkey biryani continued to account for the highest number of Deepavali orders, he added.
The festive rush has also attracted cloud kitchens. T Mohideen, a cloud kitchen operator in Thillai Nagar, said his homemade-style turkey biryani had developed a strong following. “We prepare limited batches based on the number of birds ordered, using homemade ingredients,” he said.