Lounge
How chef Ranveer Brar learnt to cook biryani
Summary
Chef Ranveer Brar speaks to Lounge about making the perfect biryani and his newest food-travelogue show
The diversity of Indian cuisine encapsulating myriad influences is evident in its regional biryanis. There’s no one better than the erudite and articulate chef Ranveer Brar to explore the enriching world of biryani, kept alive by age-old institutions across the country.
In the newest food-travelogue show, Toofani Biryani Hunt Season 2, he takes viewers on a ‘high energy’ biryani journey. While the first season had Brar cooking biryani, the second season is about visiting seven cities—Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata—and showcasing the best biryani places. In an interview with Lounge, Brar talks about making friends with rice and picks his favourite biryani spots.
Edited excerpts:
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You grew up and learnt to cook in the land of biryani—Lucknow. When did you first attempt to prepare it?
I started cooking around 17 and learnt to make a decent biryani by 21. For the longest time, I was scared of cooking it because once everything goes into the handi, and it’s tightly closed, it’s difficult to know what to expect. One has more control when cooking in an open pot. The food is visually talking to you and you can taste as well as modify. The ustaad who taught me about biryani said, I needed to make friends with rice. And that is how it started: Understanding rice, soaking it, figuring how much water it absorbs, the ratio of spices and meat, and the time needed for the perfect outcome. They say when you're looking, you're not cooking; making biryani is the ultimate test of that.
So, making biryani is similar to baking?
Yes, a lot of modern dum biryani is made in the oven.
Is there any biryani that intimidates you, even to this day?
Biryanis from the south. I made friendship with rice from the north which is basmati. It’s long-grained and slightly brittle. But, I am yet to strike a friendship with the short-grained, mildly waxy seeraga samba. It’s diametrically opposite to how Basmati behaves in a biryani. In Lucknow, where I grew up, less (spice) is more and the masala is used for aroma. But, in places like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the spice blend is pepper-forward with more heat. To be able to understand that and how it interacts with rice is everything.
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What are the things to keep in mind while tasting biryani?
The regular parameters remain the same: There are top notes, body, the lingering aftertaste and a little bit of the nose (aromas). That's how you taste anything. In this case, the most important thing to examine is rice, and how well it delivers the meat as well as the spices. If the meat pieces are bigger, it gets trickier, because they take longer to cook. How does one cook the meat without overcooking the rice? All of this is craftsmanship.
Currently, you are the host of the food travelogue show Toofani Biryani Hunt. How is it different from the content that you create for your online audience?
My food videos are like jazz music; I believe they leave the viewer with a sense of calm. They show does the opposite and takes you on a (biryani) high. There’s a lot of fast-paced, high-energy treatment. It’s like rock-and-roll.
Thums Up Toofani Biryani Hunt is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
