3:07 PM
The Kolkata-based ‘The Biryani Company’ claims to be a new age, health-conscious food delivery chain providing Healthy, Tasty and Affordable freshly cooked biryani! PanchPhoron was recently invited over for a food tasting session at 'Biryani Bistro', their fine dining restaurant in Mudiali. whether or not can David take on the Goliaths of the Biryani makers to the likes of Arsalan/Aminia/India/Alia remained to be found out.
Conceptualized by Mr. Sougata Bannerjee, the Biryani Company had become a known name in the industry with their multiple outlets serving fusion Mughlai/ awadhi cuisines in a take-away/dine-in model around two years back. But owing to certain complications regarding maintaining the same standard they stand for, Mr. Bannerjee decided to close down the small outlets & concentrate on the flagship restaurant in Mudiali.
A former professor & Management consultant by profession, Mr. Bannerjee's second passion has been food. As he roamed the world in connection with his work, he always dreamt of opening an unique food destination in Kolkata. The dream was equally shared by his wife who herself is an professor at a renowned college in Kolkata. So it was only a matter of time before 'The Biryani Company' was born. Mr. Sougata, a great cook himself, left no stones unturned to collect the best recipes, spices & chefs for his restaurant.
Located in the lane parallel to S P Mukherjee Road, the outlet is located very close to Mudiali club. Situated in the ground floor, the seating area is divided in two parts, accommodating roughly about 35 people.
The interiors are done in a fine way. Various showpieces, porcelain dolls & other items collected from all around the world adorn the walls & the showcase. Ambient light is warm & appropriate for a fine dinner or lunch.
As we were seated we were served glasses of cold drinks. The owner Mr. Saugata welcomed us himself, & we had a detailed chat about his passion regarding food, the idea behind the restaurant. Here, as we came to know, Dalda or MSG is not used & the items are made as healthy as possible. The spices are all natural, even the kesar used is of superior quality & not the cheap coloring ones generally found in the market.
Meanwhile the food items arrived, the aroma was wonderful & we dug into the items as fast as we could. A short description of the items we tried is given below:
1. Hara Bhara Kebab:
As the name implies its a kebab made with 'hara' i.e green veggies, in this case, green peas, chickpeas & spinach. The kebabs had a dual tone colour, brown top & bottom from the toasting with the greens layered in between. No artificial colour or flavour added, the crunchy kebabs were a delight as a starter.
2. Paneer Tikka:
Another veg dish coming to the table, this one was pieces of cottage cheese (paneer) tomato & capsicum held together by toothpick, reasonably coated with spices & then lightly cooked. tasted quite delicious.
3. Tandoor achari kumbh:
After peas & paneer it was time for something. At first we weren't familiar with the name 'kumbh', but as Mr. Saugata explained, mushrooms are known by that name in the northern parts of India. The authentic taste has been maintained with the spicy 'achari' marinade. The mushrooms it selves were soft & juicy & liked by all.
4. Fish Fry:
Done with the veg starters we moved on to the non-veg ones. Fish fry needs no introduction. The fillets of fish was juicy, surely they had been procured fresh in the morning. The coating was not too hard, not too soggy either, in one word perfect. The accompanying dip needs special mention. Generally Fish fry/fingers are served with kasundi/mayonnaise. But here they innovatively served best of both by adding chopped green chillies & mustard paste to the mayo & making it quite an unique dip.
5. Lasuni Chicken Kalmi:
The next was Chicken Kalmi kebab with added garlic paste. Yet the smell of garlic was not overpowering. The meat was soft from adequate marination & could be separated from the bone without much struggle. Delicious. Recommended.
6. Mutton Galawati:
Next to hit the tables was Mutton Galawati kebab. This is one Lakhnavi kebab everyone is acquainted with. The familiar smell was hit the nose as soon as this one was in the room. The finely minced mutton along with its smokey smell really melted in the mouth. Every ingredient was so nicely cooked that it really melted like butter as soon as we took the bite. Astoundingly perfect. Definitely recommended.
7. Butter Naan/ Masala Kulcha / Galawati Kulcha :
Next up were the breads. Nothing to say about the Naan & masala kulcha as they were standard affairs. It suffices to say they were well prepared. But the star of the bread Basket was the galawati kulcha. As the name suggests, its Masala kulcha with a twist, where the masala is replaced by the galawati paste. As was with the case of the galawati kebab, the kulcha too got rave appreciation from the foodies.
8. Badami Spl. Chicken Champ:
Chicken Chaap with added peanut paste. Though the chicken was cooked to perfection, somehow the gravy had an overpowering taste of raw peanut. Maybe in a hurry the peanut paste had remained a tad bit undercooked, but else it was good as side dish to the biryani & breads.
9. Mutton Biryani:
The star of the lunch, we were eagerly waiting for this. More so as we had been told that they prepare it without dalda. & surely it didn't disappoint. the rice was cooked to perfection. & the mutton! It has to be one of the softest & juiciest mutton piece I had in a biryani in a long time.On enquiringt I got to know that the muttons are cooked in two stages to ensure proper cooking. The absence of dalda could be easily seen from the texture of the biryani. The piece of potato too was well cooked.
10. Gulab Jamun with Rabri:
We finished our meal on a sweet note with Gulab Jamun in rabri. A perfect finish, the hot jamun was soft & the rabri well made.
Overall had a great experience at the Biryani Bisto by The Biryani Company. They did live upto their claim of tasty yet healthy Biryanis. Great food & great ambiance. The owner & staff very courteous & welcoming. Hopefully other foodies visiting the place will like it as much as we liked it.
Will surely visit again to try out other items from their menu.
Till then
Happy Eating.
Food tasting @ The Biryani Company, Mudiali with PanchPhoron
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Conceptualized by Mr. Sougata Bannerjee, the Biryani Company had become a known name in the industry with their multiple outlets serving fusion Mughlai/ awadhi cuisines in a take-away/dine-in model around two years back. But owing to certain complications regarding maintaining the same standard they stand for, Mr. Bannerjee decided to close down the small outlets & concentrate on the flagship restaurant in Mudiali.
A former professor & Management consultant by profession, Mr. Bannerjee's second passion has been food. As he roamed the world in connection with his work, he always dreamt of opening an unique food destination in Kolkata. The dream was equally shared by his wife who herself is an professor at a renowned college in Kolkata. So it was only a matter of time before 'The Biryani Company' was born. Mr. Sougata, a great cook himself, left no stones unturned to collect the best recipes, spices & chefs for his restaurant.
Located in the lane parallel to S P Mukherjee Road, the outlet is located very close to Mudiali club. Situated in the ground floor, the seating area is divided in two parts, accommodating roughly about 35 people.
The interiors are done in a fine way. Various showpieces, porcelain dolls & other items collected from all around the world adorn the walls & the showcase. Ambient light is warm & appropriate for a fine dinner or lunch.
As we were seated we were served glasses of cold drinks. The owner Mr. Saugata welcomed us himself, & we had a detailed chat about his passion regarding food, the idea behind the restaurant. Here, as we came to know, Dalda or MSG is not used & the items are made as healthy as possible. The spices are all natural, even the kesar used is of superior quality & not the cheap coloring ones generally found in the market.
Meanwhile the food items arrived, the aroma was wonderful & we dug into the items as fast as we could. A short description of the items we tried is given below:
1. Hara Bhara Kebab:
As the name implies its a kebab made with 'hara' i.e green veggies, in this case, green peas, chickpeas & spinach. The kebabs had a dual tone colour, brown top & bottom from the toasting with the greens layered in between. No artificial colour or flavour added, the crunchy kebabs were a delight as a starter.
2. Paneer Tikka:
Another veg dish coming to the table, this one was pieces of cottage cheese (paneer) tomato & capsicum held together by toothpick, reasonably coated with spices & then lightly cooked. tasted quite delicious.
3. Tandoor achari kumbh:
After peas & paneer it was time for something. At first we weren't familiar with the name 'kumbh', but as Mr. Saugata explained, mushrooms are known by that name in the northern parts of India. The authentic taste has been maintained with the spicy 'achari' marinade. The mushrooms it selves were soft & juicy & liked by all.
4. Fish Fry:
Done with the veg starters we moved on to the non-veg ones. Fish fry needs no introduction. The fillets of fish was juicy, surely they had been procured fresh in the morning. The coating was not too hard, not too soggy either, in one word perfect. The accompanying dip needs special mention. Generally Fish fry/fingers are served with kasundi/mayonnaise. But here they innovatively served best of both by adding chopped green chillies & mustard paste to the mayo & making it quite an unique dip.
5. Lasuni Chicken Kalmi:
The next was Chicken Kalmi kebab with added garlic paste. Yet the smell of garlic was not overpowering. The meat was soft from adequate marination & could be separated from the bone without much struggle. Delicious. Recommended.
6. Mutton Galawati:
Next to hit the tables was Mutton Galawati kebab. This is one Lakhnavi kebab everyone is acquainted with. The familiar smell was hit the nose as soon as this one was in the room. The finely minced mutton along with its smokey smell really melted in the mouth. Every ingredient was so nicely cooked that it really melted like butter as soon as we took the bite. Astoundingly perfect. Definitely recommended.
7. Butter Naan/ Masala Kulcha / Galawati Kulcha :
Next up were the breads. Nothing to say about the Naan & masala kulcha as they were standard affairs. It suffices to say they were well prepared. But the star of the bread Basket was the galawati kulcha. As the name suggests, its Masala kulcha with a twist, where the masala is replaced by the galawati paste. As was with the case of the galawati kebab, the kulcha too got rave appreciation from the foodies.
8. Badami Spl. Chicken Champ:
Chicken Chaap with added peanut paste. Though the chicken was cooked to perfection, somehow the gravy had an overpowering taste of raw peanut. Maybe in a hurry the peanut paste had remained a tad bit undercooked, but else it was good as side dish to the biryani & breads.
9. Mutton Biryani:
The star of the lunch, we were eagerly waiting for this. More so as we had been told that they prepare it without dalda. & surely it didn't disappoint. the rice was cooked to perfection. & the mutton! It has to be one of the softest & juiciest mutton piece I had in a biryani in a long time.On enquiringt I got to know that the muttons are cooked in two stages to ensure proper cooking. The absence of dalda could be easily seen from the texture of the biryani. The piece of potato too was well cooked.
10. Gulab Jamun with Rabri:
We finished our meal on a sweet note with Gulab Jamun in rabri. A perfect finish, the hot jamun was soft & the rabri well made.
Overall had a great experience at the Biryani Bisto by The Biryani Company. They did live upto their claim of tasty yet healthy Biryanis. Great food & great ambiance. The owner & staff very courteous & welcoming. Hopefully other foodies visiting the place will like it as much as we liked it.
Will surely visit again to try out other items from their menu.
Till then
Happy Eating.
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