A third generation chef set to present Bohri biryani in QSR format talks thaal bashing and a 'cocktail' minus alcohol.
History is unclear about whether Nawabi muslims of the north or Arab traders of the south are to be credited for introducing our countrymen to this fragrant rice dish. But every city has tried to add its flavour to the slow-steaming pan.
So whether you prefer the mildflavoured North Indian biryani, the wetter West Indian variant or the potato fest that is Calcutta-style biryani, chances are you have an opinion on them all. One of the lesser known variants, surprisingly, comes from Mumbai - Bohri biryani.
To the average Indian, the everyday meals of the Bohra community come across as nothing short of a gastronomic wonder. Several Bohra families still sit around a large thaal in time-honoured fashion and savour course after course of their meal. Though several vegetarian preparations in Bohri cuisine find their roots in Gujarati cuisine (like the festive palidu, a preparation of lentil rice served with curry) thanks to early Bohra settlements in the Kathiawar peninsula, it is the Afghan and Arab influences that stand out in curries and biryani.
The Bohra community, we are told, will form an opinion about a wedding, based solely on the food, not by the gold adorning the bride. "You'll see an 80-year-old and a 10-year-old sitting side by side, bashing the thaal", remarks Chef Mohammed Bhol. The chef who previously helmed the kitchens at 212 Bar and Grill and Cafe Sundance, comes from the famous Bhol Caterers family at Nagpada.
In the frugal '60s, when India faced its most severe food shortage, prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri pleaded with the people to skip one meal every week. A single serving of vanilla ice-cream and Coca Cola was served at most weddings, and rice too had become a luxury. Bhol's grandfather, Hussenibhai Bhol would accommodate all budgets, despite the scarcity, and unflinchingly cater Bohra functions out of his modest home in Nagpada. From here, they grew to cater to large numbers and even ran a canteen in the Mantralaya building in the 90s.
For nearly four decades, the Bhols have safeguarded traditional recipes and immersed themselves in the family business. Now, together with partners Anurag Mehrotra and Krishna Kant, Chef Bhol aspires to make Bohri cuisine, and its aromatic biryanis in particular, more accessible through an upcoming Bohri biryani delivery service, Charcoal.
Cooked the dum way with charcoals over a slow-fire, the marinated meat is smoked, then layered with half-boiled rice and slow-steamed in a sealed pot for two hours to trap all the aromas. The seamless marriage of flavours during the cooking process yields a moist biryani, instead of a drier pulao.
Bhol's new creation, the cocktail biryani, adds chicken meatballs reminiscent of Delhi's kofta biryani in addition to chicken and mutton. The rice is perfectly cooked and the combination of shahi jeera (caraway seeds) and badi elaichi (black cardamom) lend fragrance to the dish without overpowering it. It is served alongside their creamy raita, or customary cold soup of split pigeon pea (toovar) called sarki. It's traditional meets contemporary. German equipment allows meats to be smoked on a conveyer, before being packed in large vessels to cook dum.
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