What comes to your mind first when you think of Ambur?
BIRYANI would be the unanimous exploding answer đ Fact: Ambur probably has more biryani shops per sq.km than any other town in the world…
High Quality Seeraga Samba Rice, Tender chunks of some great Mutton, The green Banana Leaf, The white Raitha, The thick brinjal curry, The Red t-shirt Servers ..
These are the first compelling sights of this place as you order the famous mutton biriyani here. Before jumping to the tasting experience, a quick history of the place (why? Because it is interesting! )
The Ambur biryani is the best known variety of the Arcot biryani, a generic name for biryanis in the region once ruled by the nawabs of Arcot. The nawabs of Arcot are one of the fore runners of biriyani. Spread across 4 generations (the first generation directly under Nawabâs rule), this hotel rooted at Ambur has a family saga history of its own.
It was first started in 1890 by Hasin baig, who began selling biryani from his home itself. Over the years, the business began to take the name as “Khursheed hotel” named after Baigâs son. He ran it until 1960âs. From there, Story goes like due to family problems, Khursheedâs son in law, Naseer Ahmed had to break out and start afresh. Naseer established âRahmaniya Hotelâ around 1968, expanded it and now the name has evolved into the iconic âSTAR biryaniâ. âAt Khursheed Hotel that thatha ran in the 1900s, biryani was ready as early as 7 a.m.,â says Anees, who manages the Chennai wing of restaurants.
Now back to the eating experience! Taste wise, the biryani is delicious â as always the seeraga samba with its al-dente character (retains firmness when cooked without coagulating into mass) makes the first impression. The flavours were subtle and not over powering. In an appetising way, they were understated and not much of masala involved.
The favourite of all, mutton biryani costs at Rs.210 and Chicken at Rs.179.Upon those flashy chicken 65 images running on the side lit screen, I was tempted to order them as well to complement the biryani. It served much more scrumptious. So those boneless 65 are a sure recommend for side to go along with the biryani.
Itâs claimed that they retain the taste because of these elements – they make separate spicy chilli, ginger and garlic into a paste with the traditional ammi grind. The other element is technique.
Unlike the Hyderabadi biryanis, the rice is parboiled, the meat is cooked separately and the mixture of both are allowed to cook on dum further (In earthen vessels burnt with red hot coal) All these being said, I personally believe âThe Ambur peopleâs passion for biryani is the secret Ingredientâ đ
Together, all these elements make thousands of people throng to the Ambur Star biryani centre for craving their boundless biryani taste-buds.
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