There are biryani maniacs, and then there are Triplicane biryani maniacs. In Chennai, most of us fall into the latter category. We head to Triplicane if we’re in a celebratory mood; we head to Triplicane if we’re depressed. We head to Triplicane… well, you get the picture. The area is a biryani hotspot, and for those with a weakness for the fragrant dish of meat and rice, it is nothing short of heaven.
On plain sight, Triplicane seems like just another jam-packed locality with countless cramped bylanes. But look closer, and you will find something special in every nook and corner. Dr Besant Road is the backbone of Triplicane’s biryani culture — the road is lined with hole-in-the-wall outlets, where you can feast on a plate of delicious beef, mutton, or chicken biryani for as little as ₹40.
“You wait and watch,” says S Shama, who owns four restaurants in the area. “In a few years, this place will have nothing but restaurants.” We are inside one of his outlets and a fresh batch of biryani is being prepared for the evening.
Made with basmati and mildly spiced, the Triplicane biryani looks like a golden cloud. Charminar, one of the bigger outlets on Dr Besant Road, is also among the most popular. As we make our way through the crowd for takeaway (it’s virtually impossible to have a sit-down meal here; it’s that crowded, every day), and walk away with a parcel wrapped in newspaper, it feels like an achievement. For, to brave the queue at Charminar is one thing; to get there before their afternoon batch runs out is quite another.
Best in town
However, it is SHB that serves the best mutton biryani in the locality. Come Ramadan, SHB doles out deep-fried mutton cutlets and chicken rolls towards evening, right in time for the breaking of the fast. Nearby, just outside the Big Mosque, Afreen Juice and Tea Shop stocks the best chicken samosas. Crisp medhu vadas and crunchy paruppu vadas are the flavour of the Ramadan season. Waheeda makes them right at the gate of the mosque; do not miss her egg bondas .
Towards the end of Ramadan, the rumani semiya sellers squat on the pavements with tubs of snowy home-made semiya. All you have to do is fry it in oil or ghee and soak it in sweetened thick milk and add nuts — it’s a heady dessert.
One must concede that there are restaurants in other parts of the city that serve better biryani. What makes Triplicane so special?
It’s the people. Mohammed Yusuf of Afreen, for instance, will not let me leave without a cup of his ‘cutting’ chai. Then there is Zakira, the semiya seller who readily invites me home for a Ramadan feast. “I’ll make you delicious biryani,” she says. Now why would you go elsewhere?
