A biryani for you

An age-old debate among biryani enthusiasts is whether vegetable biryani should be referred to as “biryani" at all. It is still denounced by many as just pulao. But Delhi-based Adit Madan does not agree.

For Madan, who earlier this year started The Biryani Project (TBP), a gourmet biryani delivery service in Delhi, the vegetable biryani is a legitimate biryani. He says a Hyderabad-style dum biryani with layers of rice and an assortment of exotic vegetables cannot be called pulao. “It’s a delight. It’s one of my favourite biryanis," adds Madan. TBP, which has a 12-member team, currently offers four types of biryani: an Awadhi-style dum puhkt mutton biryani, a dum biryani from Hyderabad (available in chicken, mutton and vegetarian versions), a Godavari chicken biryani, and a biryani inspired by Mumbai’s Bohra community.

Interestingly, none of TBP members have any prior experience of working in the food industry. To counter that, they spent more than two years on research. They travelled to the areas of origin to ensure their biryanis tasted as authentic as possible.

“The biryanis are adjusted to the palate because that’s important. We were not getting any authentic, genuine biryani from different regions of India in Delhi, which is the food capital… This project started off as a problem-solving venture," explains Madan.

The company sources its saffron from Pampore in Kashmir, and red chilli powder and other spices from Begum Bazaar in Hyderabad.

The Biryani Project can be reached at 8750212212.