There’s biryani; and there’s Arsalan’s biryani. Those who are familiar with the Calcutta type of biryani would clearly know what I’m talking about. While there exists a whole range of biryanis across the country, each with its regional flavours and differences, from Lucknow’s Awadhi to Kerala’s Thalassery, the Ambur biryani from Tamil Nadu to the kachchi biryani (mostly popular in Bangladesh though), it is Arsalan’s mutton biryani that occupies a special seat in my gustatory palette. The craze is so intense that every time I visit Calcutta, I make sure to carry a few packets with me on my return. While Saturday was not one of my best days; the nagging pain of saying bye bye to my dad who could barely hide his tears, Maa’s forlorn demeanour, an unexpectedly over-crowded airport with never-ending queues, flight delayed by three and a half hours, two sleepy and restless kids at my heels, bad weather and turbulence, landing in Mumbai at ten minutes past midnight amidst a heavy shower, oh my…it was as if all the odds had been waiting to confront me that day!!! Never mind! As Sunday unveiled itself in its lazy avatar where I had to drag myself to unpack, arrange the laundry and do all other sundry jobs, it was lunch that brought a smile upon my face; the delicate aroma of Arsalan biryani as it went in circles inside the microwave, warming up to satisfy not just my taste buds but my soul as well. And as I took the first few bites, for a moment I felt I was in Salt Lake, my home where I spent the first twenty one years of my life. And understood how certain food brings to life, the past into the present, making that moment timeless. And that’s not romanticising the biryani at all, my friend 🙂
Arsalan Biryani
