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Enjoy authentic biryani straight out of Nawab's kitchen
A centuries-old unique heritage culinary biryani recipe finds a home in the fishing village of Alapakkam as the ‘Kadal Karai Seafood Biryani’.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
JOY and happiness cannot be measured, especially when it comes from inner satisfaction. Watching a sunrise or drinking hot kappi after a morning jog on the beach or the smell of fresh wadas being fried at a roadside stall, are small but significant tools of happiness.
That’s why, one day when it was drizzling, and Rajeev’s, Gopal’s and Ramesh’s moods were tuned to long drives, we decided to drive to unknown places for new culinary discoveries. Rajeev is a real foodie and the way he described the taste of a dish is in his mouth left all of us salivating.
This is how we decided to celebrate Bakrid with great sea food, and the best place was one of the quaint, heritage fishing villages along the Cuddalore coastline. Alapakkam is a village in Cuddalore district and an ideal location for some great Bakrid seafood biryani.
As soon as our car stopped, a young lad, with mischievous eyes, ran up, opened the car with great eagerness and wanted to take us fishing in his boat.
On learning that all that we were interested in was seafood biryani special for Bakrid, he took us to the oldest Muslim family’s house.
A handsome old man, standing tall and proud, with just a lungi tied around his waist, greeted us. He was Faizal Usman annan , whose forefathers could be traced back to two centuries old links with the Nawab of Arcot. Cooking had always been a family inheritance under the Muslim rulers of Arcot. The whole place smelt of seafood being cooked over wood fire. He took us to the cooking place, which had a wood fire burning.
Bent over it, stirring something in a huge stone cauldron, was an old lady. She greeted us and explained she was cooking seafood biryani with an authentic onion garlic chutney, semiya kheer and tomato pachidi to go with it.
Apparently, the recipe for the biryani was one of the traditional gifts from her mother-in law, just after the nikkah. We were lucky enough to be witnessing the cooking process and after that getting to taste it.
So, feeling very lucky, we awaited the feast, sipping on tender coconut. The feast was served in a large tray and small plates were handed around. The chutney, pickles tomato pachidi, sweetmeats like Mysorepak and semiya kheer were also placed alongside and once ‘Bismillah’ was said, we all started eating from the same tray. Today, I bring to you the seafood biryani recipe, so you can recreate it in your kitchen. It is modified for modern cooking.
The writer is a chef and author of Festive Offerings to the Gods
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