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Sunday biryani and seeraga samba rice
A small, fragrant grain from Thanjavur, and why our biryani sells out by two.
Most biryanis in North India and Hyderabad are made with long-grain basmati. The Kongu biryani we make on Sundays uses seeraga samba, a short, fat grain grown in the Thanjavur delta, named because it looks like cumin seeds. It is the rice that gives Tamil biryanis their own character.
Seeraga samba has a strong, sweet fragrance, and it takes in masala instead of staying separate. It also cooks differently. It needs less water than basmati, and it breaks easily if stirred, so the biryani is layered and then cooked on dum, sealed, over a slow fire for its last 25 minutes.
Our masala starts early on Sunday morning. Small onions are peeled by hand, and the spices are roasted and ground fresh: fennel, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and a little stone flower. The chicken marinates in curd, ginger, garlic and mint for three hours before it meets the rice.
We cook four large copper vessels, about 400 portions, starting at eleven. They are usually gone by two in the afternoon. If you want to be sure of a plate, order on WhatsApp by Saturday night and we will keep yours aside.
