All that glitters is ‘pulao’

Just when we thought we’ve tasted them all, now comes the one with the ‘golden leaf’.

A MORSEL IN GOLD: Bangaru kodi pulao. Photo: Special Arrangement

Legend has it that one of the Nizams of Hyderabad used to eat gold-laced paan as an aphrodisiac and that’s how he could keep his several wives happy. With the end of the Nizam era, gold leaf paan is not such a common thing. But how about some chicken pulao with gold? Yes, you read that right. Chicken pulao laced with gold leaf — bangaru kodi pulao .

Launched on Monday, a tweet by its creator — Kuchipudi Venkat — created a buzz among food lovers within minutes much to his delight. His phone has been is ringing incessantly ever since. Also a film-maker, Venkat’s love affair with food is as deep as his love for movies. Besides ideating on business ventures, he also has a partnership with Ravikanth, the brain behind ‘7 Biryanis’. The bangaru kodi pulao however is only available at ‘Kitchen off Kuchipudi’ near Durgam Cheruvu.

So how did the idea come to Venkat? “I love food that doesn’t just sound good but appeals and tastes good as well. While silver leaf is a common thing seen on desserts, gold is used on very rare occasions. However, just placing a gold leaf over the pulao isn’t enough to make the dish look and taste appealing. The gold leaf is the final addition to make it look attractive, the way the pulao is made also different. The rice grains are fried in low flame to get a desired light brown effect. We aren’t making use of any artificial colouring agent to give the colour to the rice. After frying the rice with the special spices, we put in on

dum with the marinated chicken. Finally before being served the gold leaf is placed. It is the most tricky part of the dish, as the leaves are extremely light and when exposed to air they can fly and break within minutes,” explains Venkat.

Initially available in limited quantities, the

bangaru kodi pulao can also be prepared on request at the restaurant and cannot be packed for take away. It is served with a special majjiga charu chicken .

So this Akshaya Trithiya, instead of stocking the locker with gold, go eat some gold pulao and sing bangaru kodi petta gleefully. And if the gold-crazy wife is angry, take her out for dinner that serves real gold on a silver plate. After all she is precious, isn’t she?