Every Bengali family sits and chalks out an elaborate menu in which biryani holds a place of pride. With white and yellow long-grained rice, succulent pieces of meat, tangy raita and of course, the big chunks of allu. The allu sets the Bengali biryani apart. Once in Mumbai, we hunted down every Pujo pandal for the perfect biryani. Luckily, in these times of eating out, the treasure hunt is much easier.
Homesick Bengalis, Order In The Most Authentic Biryani This Pujo
Bijoli Grill
Bijoli Grill specialises in more of the Kolkata street food variety. Their biryani is a perfect ten; pleasing all your senses at once. The rock-shaped allu takes pride of place, making the whole dish what dreams are made of.
Price: INR 305
Hangla's
Hangla’s is another popular Kolkata street food joint in Mumbai. Expectedly, this place will give you the cheapest Bong biryani in the city. The boiled egg adds a lot of flavour to the rice, and makes up for the sometimes missing potato.
Price: INR 275
Oh! Calcutta
Oh! Calcutta, as everyone knows gives a twist to the authentic Bengali fare. The Calcutta Biryani here is a treat you want to save for a special occasion. Pair it up with some Kosha Mangsho. Do not attempt to go to the gym later in the day as it would be an insult to the biryani.
Price: INR 395 for chicken, INR 525 for mutton
Peetuk
Peetuk's got more than a few outlets in Mumbai, and serves up tasty Bengali favourites from classic Kolkata street food to Bengali thalis. They have several variations of classic Kolkata Biryani in egg, chicken or mutton. The biryani is flavourful and simple, free of the heavy masalas other biryanis tend to have.
Price: Egg biryani INR 179, special chicken INR 269, special mutton INR 279
The Calcutta Club
Pocket-friendly and pretty delish, the biryani here is a hundred per cent Kolkata style and available in chicken and mutton. Kolkata folks will recognise the inspiration behind the Beckbagan Chicken Biriyani and Park Circus Mutton Dum Biryani.
Price: chicken (half) INR 250, mutton (half) INR 295