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Biryani is not just any food. It has a cult following, a mention of this dish is enough to make one’s mouth water and feel hungry. And when it is in front of you steaming and smelling nice, the tendency is to launch a vicious attack and devour it. That is how much we love biryani.
Biryani is an evergreen classic that really needs no introduction. India offers so much on its culinary platter but the one dish Indians unanimously love indulging in is the mouth-watering biryani. With local and hyperlocal variations having evolved into distinctive styles of biryanis, one is spoilt for options when it comes to experiencing this melting pot of flavours.
Biryani is a meal in itself. There are several variations of this popular dish apart from the Hyderabadi. There are the Awadhi (or Lucknowi), Kolkata, Ambur, Dindigul, Thalassery, Bhatkali and many more.
Though it may appear to be a dish indigenous to India, in reality, the dish originated quite far away. Biryani is derived from the Persian word Birian, which means ‘fried before cooking’ and Birinj, the Persian word for rice.
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While there are multiple theories about how biryani made its way to India, it is generally accepted that it originated in West Asia.
One legend has it that the Turk-Mongol conqueror, Timur, brought the precursor to the biryani with him when he arrived at the frontiers of India in 1398. Believed to be the war campaign diet of Timur’s army, an earthen pot full of rice, spices and whatever meats were available would be buried in a hot pit, before being eventually dug up and served to the warriors.
Another legend has it that the dish was brought to the southern Malabar coast of India by Arab traders who were frequent visitors there. There are records of a rice dish known as Oon Soru in Tamil literature as early as the year 2 A.D. Oon Soru was said to be made of rice, ghee, meat, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and bay leaf, and was used to feed military warriors.
However, the most popular story traces the origins of the dish to Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s beautiful queen who inspired the Taj Mahal.
It is said that Mumtaz once visited the army barracks and found the Mughal soldiers looking weak and undernourished. She asked the chef to prepare a special dish that combined meat and rice to provide balanced nutrition to the soldiers – and the result was biryani of course!
However, Bengaluru’s signature biryani has to be the Donne biryani that takes its name from the arecanut palm cups that it’s served in. So if you are a die-hard fan of this delicious dish, you must visit the military hotels.
Situated in parts of Old Bengaluru, which is now known as the Cantonment area, military hotels were the first eateries serving non-vegetarian food and so some of them began to add the prefix of ‘Hindu’ to specify that they do not serve pork or beef, but only chicken and goat meat.
Although the origin of military hotels remains clouded in the aromatic smoke of biryanis, several reports claim that they began to mushroom across the city in the 17th century to meet the food requirements of soldiers.
Here’s are two must-visit oldest- Military hotels of this city.
Sri Govinda Rao Military Hotel
Well-known as SG Rao hotel, this eatery is hard to spot in the bustling Akkipet market area in Ranasinghpet, amidst the crowds and clutter of homes and businesses.
With zero publicity (except for an old name board) and minimum visibility, the eatery in a single story building has just over ten tables. Testimony to a loyal clientele is the lunch and dinner rush of customers, many of whom are fourth-generation patrons of this eatery.
The history behind SG Rao’s goes back to 1900s when its founder, Govinda Rao came to the Petta area in Old Bangalore from the Maralavadi village in Kanakapura taluk, Ramanagara.
In 1908, Rao started the eatery with a few benches and desks under a thatched room in the old Akkipet area and it was said to be an instant hit with its Donne Biryani.
Post-Independence SG Rao hotel turned a known name in Bengaluru city, however Rao senior was dedicated to his single outlet and serving its loyal clientele rather than expanding into rest of garden city.
Apart from their signature chicken donne biryani, delicacies like mutton biryani, mutton chops, keema and chicken fry form the bulk of the menu at the SG Rao hotel.
‘Shivaji Military hotel’,
A hotel where the aroma of donne biryani fills the air, and people come and go as mounds of this flavorsome rice is served in bowls made of palm leaves (donne).
However, it you are planning to visit 80-year-old Shivaji Military Hotel, in 8th block Jayanagar, then plan in advance, for the eatery is jam-packed with people queuing up from early morning.
The place is owned and managed by brother-duo L Lokesh and L Rajeev, who believe in doing everything on their own, including cooking. They have developed a home-grown taste which has become their USP.
At this eatery, the chicken takes different forms, the mutton comes in unique flavours and the ‘biryani’ is just one-of-its-kind. Shivaji Military Hotel was started by S Mannaji Rao in 1935 in a small space and soon the taste caught up with people and the word began to spread.
It is undoubtedly the uncompromising quality and the fact that they haven’t gone commercial that has brought them so far.
Apart from ‘biryani’, the eatery is popular for ‘kal soup’, ‘mutton liver’, ‘dosa’, and has its varieties in chicken.