To understand a city, try its biryani . It will tell you how people there like their food. As someone who grew up on Coimbatore biryani , among my top fears when I moved to Chennai for work was, ‘Will I get my kind of biryani here?’ The answer, I found over several years of err..., research, is ‘no’. Its more popular cousin, Dindigul biryani , is available across the country. But if you like your biryani Coimbatore style, you’re going to have to travel to the city every time you crave it.
So, what exactly is Coimbatore biryani ? The answer lies in the recipe of Angannan Pillai and his wife Unnamalai Ammal. Their restaurant Sri Angannan Biryani Hotel, opened 92 years ago on Variety Hall Road, a commercial part of the town, introduced a biryani that the couple arrived at after a lot of trial-and-error. Jaishree Sandeep, the fourth generation in the family who runs the restaurant along with her husband and uncle, recalls, “I’ve heard stories of how they wanted to make something that can be had by everyone, including children.”
The biryani is greenish-yellow and mild, with wisps of crushed garlic making an appearance here and there. It is made of the short seeraga samba rice, and is fragrant with green chillies and cardamom. Sri Angannan Biryani was reopened in RS Puram four years ago after a brief slump. Right across the road, is Kovai Biryani Hotel, serving a similar kind of biryani . Opened 12 years ago by three brothers, the restaurant now has three branches in the city.
“The first thing we ask a customer, if they tend to complain that our biryani is too mild, is, ‘Where are you from?’” laughs A Prathab, one of the founders. “People from different parts of the country like their biryan i a particular way. So we will not take offence if someone says ours is like tomato rice. We will politely counter it with, ‘This is our style’,” he adds.
Biryan i in places in and around Madurai and Dindigul tend to be extremely spicy. Jaishree points out how cinnamon is crucial to the flavour of the latter styles. Whereas in Chennai, it tends to be a masala-heavy version of the Hyderabadi biryani . The Malabar biryani , although on the mild side, has completely different flavours, and is made of jeerakasala rice.
Among the defining attributes of Kongu food, points out Prathab, is toned-down spices. “Even the sambar in popular restaurants in the region tends to be on the sweeter side,” he says. Which can perhaps explain the popularity of the mild biryani in the region and the rise of other outlets such as Thambiyannan Biriyani Hotel specialising in it.
The thing about this variety is that, it gives one the feeling of not having had a heavy meal. You know the post- biryani phase where you feel like doing nothing else but sleep? The city’s biryani will not leave you feeling that way. It’s perfect for a work lunch — I know from experience. And you can have it for lunch and dinner, without any guilt. It has minimal ghee and there’s also the option of ordering an ‘empty’ biryani , the one without the meat, and eat it with a halo over your head.
For the Coimbatore biryani experience though, you will have to travel there. It’s a laid-back city, with Ooty and the Western Ghats a stone’s throw away. Once you are there and let its relaxed vibes seep in, you will realise it is as easy to like its biryani as it is its people.
