Biryani Moments, Part 1
In which it's on the screen
Biryani has a deep influence across the Subcontinent. It’s arguably the most popular food item across both India and Pakistan. Of course, it shows up in the other cultural axis of the region, the movies. There’s even a Tamil movie called Biryani, but I didn’t find a pivotal moment in there.
Here are three Biryani Moments (TM), one from each of the last three decades.
Yeshwant, 1997. Nana Patekar plays Nana Patekar, in the uniform of the eponymous cop. A journalist comes in to complain about his stolen camera bag, during a protest (ah, the high-minded seventies). This is also the same upstanding hack who’s been raging against Patekar’s recent violence. Patekar sends for a biryani and a cola, and then sends for Chikne Abdul - a lowlife. When Abdul comes in, he’s given the biryani, which he hesitantly enjoys. Patekar asks him to return the journo’s gear, which he denies knowing of. Patekar slaps him, and Abdul runs off to bring back the bag. Patekar justifies his methods.
Did you see that? I fed him a biryani. He had a Thums-up. Asked him nicely. He didn’t say anything. The moment he got one below his ear, he replied right away. That’s why I have to do what I do.
It looked like a chicken biryani, perhaps Memoni style, but I couldn’t tell for sure.
I found the clip on youtube. It’s over-dramatic and funny. Angry Yeshwant teaches the righteous journalist a lesson. The biryani is an ultimate symbol of pampering. Also, Chikne (meaning smooth) Abdul is a funny nickname, in a silly sort of way. Yeshwant just gets angrier after this, for the rest of the movie.
Cheeni Kum, 2007. Amitabh Bachchan’s character, Budhdhadeb is a chef, running a premium Indian restaurant in London. Tabu’s character, Nina, sends back her Hyderabadi Zaffrani Pulao to the kitchen. Budhdhadeb is offended. Nina makes the dish herself the next day and sends it across. Something something. They fall in love. They debate the inclusion of sugar in the dish. The biryani recipe (yes, it’s a biryani, stop nitpicking) is central to the movie.
The recipe, as recited by Bachchan: Dehradun basmati rice. Mutton, cooked for 18 & ¼ minutes. 5-6 grams garlic, ginger. Two spoons pure ghee. A little sour curd. Milk, 10 spoons. Two spoons red chilli, masala, lots of saffron. And, not a single grain of sugar.
I found a clip on Dailymotion.
Kaithi, 2019. (Khaidi in Telegu). This is my favourite, because it’s a true Biryani Moment (TM). You’ve surely felt this way. You’ve spent months craving for a hit of that flavour. Maybe not in a real prison, but a metaphorical one. You’re on your way to see your long-lost child in an orphanage. Maybe it’s a project deadline. Tomato to-mah-to. Bad shit will go down. Bullets will fly. But you have the opportunity to have a biryani after ages and this comes first. You serve yourself out of the handi1 with the caterer’s bucket, no less, and sit down and savour the heck out of it.
For the record, it’s a chicken biryani, and like most of the ones from that region, has a boiled egg in there. Karthi, as Dilli, stars in this Tamil quasi-remake of the epic Assault on Precinct 13. The clip went viral and birthed multiple memes.
Here’s the clip, on youtube. Appropriately dramatic.
I’m presently compiling part 2 of this, so send me your favourites.
Large metal (aluminium or copper) cauldron for biryani. Also called a degh up north.