Foodies in Bengaluru have united for their one true love – Biryani. Taking their love for the beloved delicacy to the next level, three food bloggers, Vinay Nagarjuna, Renukesh Bingeri and Navneeth Thimappa created a Facebook group titled “Bengaluru Biriyani Club”. The group which got immense responses overnight, currently has about 1,000 people online.
On their first expedition, 40 members travelled 60 kilometers to Chikmagalur to taste Hyderabadi dum biryani at a local joint that serves it only three days a week.
Vinay Nagrjuna an IT manager says, “We are hardcore biryani lovers and we enjoy exploring new places to try authentic styles of biryani. Our idea was to create a niche club for biryani as the food is so versatile and there’s so much to talk about it.”
Donne Biryani gets its name in Kannada since it was always served in a leaf bowl. As Renukesh Bingeri, an IT consultant says, “The meat and rice are cooked together unlike other biryani which are made in layers after cooking the rice and meat separately.” Navneeth Thimappa, a student of computer applications says, "Every morsel of rice in the donne biriyani has flavour seeped into it. Often the biryani that's called Ambur biryani or donne biryani in the city tastes so different from where it originated as flavours are appropriated to suit people's tastes.” The biggest misconception about biryani as Renukesh opines is that people don’t realise the various styles that biryani is made in. “There is more to biryani than just the Hyderabadi dum!”
The group's second expedition took them to SGS Non Veg restaurant in Chikpete for authentic donne biryani. Their events are organised solely for the love of biryani as Vinay says. “We decide a place and get together. We also love doing small contests with biryani trivia! Our next event will be in July and we will be eating the longest bamboo biriyani. This style of biryani is cooked in a bamboo log!”
Biryani for breakfast is a popular concept with the club’s members. Shruti Gowda, a member says, “I can eat biryani at any time of the day! It makes me feel complete. Shivaji Military Hotel in Banashankari is my go-to for biryani.” The group was a great idea to bring together a diverse set of people who absolutely love biryani. Shruti says, “The energy that we all share makes us so happy. The club is a great opportunity for people who like me to be around others who love biryani”.
The most popular styles of biryani available in the city is the donne biryani, the Hyderabadi biryani and the Ambur biryani. As their names indicate, the biryani styles originated in different parts of South India that makes the taste unique to its region.
