As the fragrance spreads...

Going by a friend’s recommendation, RAHUL VERMA discovers the delights of Behrouz Biryani

January 20, 2017 10:29 pm | Updated June 22, 2019 01:45 pm IST

HAPPY ENCOUNTER Great fare by Behrouz Biryani

HAPPY ENCOUNTER Great fare by Behrouz Biryani

The good word spreads. My friend, Mohan, heard about an online biryani service, tried it out, enjoyed the biryani, and told me about it. Of course, the moment I heard about it, I logged on – and placed my order. For despite not being a rice eater, I love biryanis. I like the Hyderabadi kacchey gosht ki biryani, the Calcutta biryani with its roasted potatoes, the Awadhi biryani with its nutmeg flavours, the many kinds of Southern biryanis, and even the pickle-infused Moradabadi biryani. So I had to see what Behrouz Biryani had to offer.

I found that Behrouz Biryani – https://www.behrouzbiryani.com/ – delivers biryani to your doorstep in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurugram. It has outlets in various other cities, too. There is a centralised telephone number (1800-2700-928) but you can place your orders online, which is what I did.

What exactly is Behrouz biryani, you will ask. The site tells us: “On a hot day, after miles of digging in the erstwhile region of Persia, archaeologists chanced upon a trail that led to an important unearthing: An entire city lay in ruins; remnants of what used to be the city of ‘Behrouz’. The kingdom gained popularity owing to its recipe for layered rice which was served to the kings and masses alike on festivities – a dish that is now known as Biryani.”

Well, the origins of the biryani are still under dispute. I remember a south Indian chef once insisting that biryanis were first cooked in the south. But let’s not get into that. What matters is that there are all kinds of biryanis from across the world – and we love them all.

Behrouz has various kinds of biryanis – including Murgh tikka biryani, murgh makhni biryani, vegetable biryani and so on. We asked for a plate of lazeez murgh biryani with bone (₹ 290 for a plate, ₹ 450 for double and ₹ 1150 for a kilo), dum gosht biryani (₹ 370) and murgh kefta biryani (₹ 300).

The food came in 40 minutes, all well packed in cardboard boxes, with small helpings of saalan and raita. The saalan wasn’t very good and tasted a bit bitter. But the biryanis were excellent.

I enjoyed the kefta biryani the most. It was different from the biryanis we generally eat for it had a light Iranian touch that appealed to me. The rice had been mildly flavoured with spices, and was topped with small, succulent pieces of minced meat patties. The patties were excellent, and added to the taste of the rice. Likewise, the chicken in the lazeez biryani was deliciously spicy, complementing the mild flavours of the rice, peppered with almond slivers and raisins. The dum gosht biryani was good, too – though it was the kefta biryani that I took a second helping from.

The helpings are generous. I would say two boxes will easily feed three hungry people. For us, the three boxes were enough for dinner for three, and lunch for two.

Apart from the taste, I like Behrouz for the efficient and speedy delivery. I hope to have more such happy encounters with Behrouz in the coming months. Meanwhile, to change the words of an old favourite: “Khuda Behrouz rakhe har bala sey”.

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