Biryani: Enjoy the subcontinent’s favourite comfort food
Why have boring old rice when you can have biryani? With Eid feasts upon us this weekend, here are our top picks for the comfort food.
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Once carefully prepared the combination of rice, spices and meat for emperors and their courts, the subcontinent’s favourite comfort food is going strong across Sydney.
Abhi’s
North Strathfield
No list of Sydney’s best Indian restaurants is complete without Abhi’s, the suburban South Asian eatery that’s been thrilling enthusiastic diners with authentically regional, carefully crafted fare for 35 years. And while every item on the menu is a showstopper, regulars know to reserve a serve of the limited-quantity Hyderabadi-style biryani the moment they sit down, so they don’t miss out. Tangy with yoghurt, spiced with ginger and garam masala and dotted with tomatoes, onion and green chillies, this South Indian rice symphony is roasted slowly with your choice of lamb or chicken, and really puts the “special” in specials menu.
163 Concord Rd, North Strathfield
The Spice Room
Circular Quay
Early recorded recipes for biryani were developed by royal cooks, who carefully prepared the combination of rice, spices and meat for emperors and their courts. This regally appointed dining room perched on the edge of Circular Quay pays tribute to those origins with the “Grand Emperor chicken biryani”, where Peshawari-style marinated chicken is layered with richly spiced, deeply aromatic fried rice. The tender goat biryani is a winner for something slightly less royal – though no less delicious. And the pea, carrot, bean and tomato-studded vegetarian biryani makes a perfect meat-free choice.
The Quay Building, 2 Phillip St, Sydney
Lankan Filling Station
Darlinghurst
Already one of Sydney’s top spots for hoppers, curries and other Sri Lankan favourites, Monday nights add the “buryani” of the week to Lankan Filling Station’s flavour-packed offerings. The saffron-hued, oven-baked rice takes on a new form each week, usually topped with a curry of some sort and complemented with sambal, raita and pappadums. But it’s the monthly collabs that really shake things up, enlisting chefs such as Mat Lindsay (Ester), Pasi Petanen (Cafe Paci) and Danielle Alvarez to bring their own unique twists to the spiced rice dish.
Ground floor, 58 Riley St, Darlinghurst
Deccan Darbar
Homebush
Ask pretty much any Hyderabadi ex-pat where they go for their favourite biryani and you’ll get the same answer: home. Ask them for their second pick, though, and chances are they’ll nudge you toward this western suburbs favourite, where slow-cooked dum biryani is the main event. Marinated mutton or chicken is cooked gently together with the rice, allowing spices, juices and flavours to fall in love in the pot. What emerges is one of the most explosively flavourful (and generously portioned) rice dishes in the city, packed with tender meat and heady with the scent of spices.
29 Rochester St, Homebush
Karachi Biryani
Auburn
Located right in the centre of Auburn – the heart of Sydney’s Pakistani community – and named after Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi specialises in Pakistani-style biryani, and that means one thing: spice. Note the luminous, vibrantly orange chilli-coated grains of aromatic basmati dispersed throughout the rice, and the rusty hue of the marinated chicken or mutton – that’s pure, face-melting flavour. Go for the meal set and your chosen biryani will arrive with a yoghurt raita, a salad and a cold drink – the perfect foils for your tastebud-tingling spicy rice adventure.
34 Auburn Rd, Auburn
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