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Annual biriyani festival a feast for gourmets

Deepa H Ramakrishnan

There are 23 varieties of biriyani made with kaadai, fish and prawn

PONDICHERRY: As the sun sets over Pondicherry, Sheiks stop for rest in their tents. Sheiks in Pondicherry! Well, though you can't see Sheiks, you can get the feel of being in Arabia with camels, the sun and the sand at Hotel Anandha Inn where their annual biriyani festival is on. Most Pondicherrians, who cannot digest food without a bit of meat in it, wait for this festival since they get to eat their favourite `dum biriyani' noon and night.

As you enter Surabi and L'Heritage, their two restaurants, the aroma of dum biriyani made in earthen pots wafts through the air. Biriyani is after all rice cooked in a mix of all kinds of spices and meats. This time Anandha Inn has 23 varieties of biriyani made with kaadai, turkey, fish and prawn, egg, chicken, mutton and vegetable. The restaurants have been decked up to bring a kind of dessert look and the waiters are also dressed to match the mood.

"We have something special for women, called the Noorjahani biriyani. It is less spicy. The Mughlai biriyani, which is also less spicy is liked by children and foreign guests", said chef Murali Nair. "This is our 11th festival. Lots of people ask us to hold the biriyani festival twice a year but we are unable to", says Anand Ganesh, marketing manager.

And to end the feast, you can top it all with melting mango mousse, special rasamalai, ice cream and fruit salads.

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