My Attempt to make a 'Near Perfect Kolkata Biriyani and Chaap'
- Saikat Sen
- Feb 21, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 20, 2023
As a child, growing up in Kolkata in 80's , Biriyani has been my dream food and passion of my childhood. Unlike today, having biriyani was an occasion of the year in my childhood (and not to mention, there were only a few authentic restaurants in Kolkata, who used to serve such Mughlai dishes).
Going to New Market, Dharmatala (Esplanade) for Puja shopping, and finally, waiting out side of the cabin of Aminia to secure the seats, was just an unforgettable memory. And finally, after getting the table, ordering the heavenly, Mutton Biriyani and Chicken Chaap, and finishing with Firni, i guess many can give up a 5 star cuisine for that memory......
As historians say, Kolkata Biriyani has it's birth connection with the last king of Awadh, India, Mirza Wajid Ali Shah. I am sure you will find a lot of research documents, videos on this connection, but we can safely say, it is after 1850, when the flavour was 1st introduced to eastern part of India. Coming to the point, why it is so special, and different from different versions of Biriyani available all across, india, i must highlight 3 points:
Potato in Biriyani (Egg. was not part of it, this is added very recently, by some restaurants)
Light and fluffy, not a lot of spices but loaded with flavour (less oil, butter)
Quality of meat - in the real authentic biriyani - the size, softness and quality of meat is the key. It is with bone , especially for Goat, with little fat but extremely soft or a piece from rib or leg, and for chicken, it is made out of small country chicken (approx. 700 gm whole chicken, popularly known as 'cock' or 'game chicken')
Finally, today, it is one of the well preserved local delicacies from Kolkata, India and despite of the fact, there are different recipes, tastes of Biriyanis all across india, I find this is the most balanced version, which you can eat as much as you want and also, feel the Royalty with every bite.
So, what is the story of the dish name 'Chaap'? That's my next blog :-)
Meanwhile, enjoy this reel for Chicken Chaap with TUM TUM song :-)