Chennai: Biryani capital of India?

Don't laugh. Tamilians have not only fallen in love with biryani, they have also innovated and created new variations

- VIR SANGHVI

One of the many ironies of living in today's India is that at a time of rising Hindu consciousness, the one dish that keeps growing in popularity is one with a distinctly Muslim origin: biryani.

According to Zomato and Swiggy, biryani has become one of the most ordered dishes in India over the last two years. New delivery operations and restaurants dedicated to biryani keep opening. On social media, fights break out on the subject of biryani: which is better, Kerala Biryani or Lucknow Biryani? Is there such a thing as vegetarian biryani?

While I have written often about the biryani boom and the role of South India in the biryani explosion, I had only dimly registered that Chennai had now become the centre of the biryani craze. Then, a few months ago, I drove from Chennai airport to the Taj Fisherman's Cove hotel, a distance of about an hour, and was startled to see how many restaurants and takeaway places had huge signs advertising biryani. Forget about Chennai's famous idlis which we outsiders come to eat. It's biryani the locals are crazy about. I was lucky to try a home-made biryani sent by food-hunter Fazil Badrudeen. But when, I wondered, did Chennai become like Lucknow where people sent biryani to welcome visitors?

Last month, I was back in Chennai and noticed once again how biryani-mad the city had become. I turned to two other food-hunters I respect: Shabnam Kamil and Dr Wasim Mohideen. Both agreed with me that Chennai was fast becoming the biryani capital of South India. But they also startled me by pointing to the huge range of different biryanis that characterised Tamil Nadu.