Mumbai 2025 [Maharashtra, India]

[Saregama]

@medgirl

It could be that the Mumbai-origin biriyanis are only available in home cooking or Maharashtrian cuisine focussed restaurants.

Bombay biryani is not Maharashtrian – it is Mughlai like all biryanis, but with a specific flavor profile and construction that developed later in Bombay (including potatoes).

BIRYANI — the real deal, travesties, and other tales

I’ll start. When I say just Biryani, I mean Bombay Biryani. That’s a specific style — generous onions and tomatoes in the base, always potatoes, and the secret ingredient — dried apricots that disintegrate during the long, slow cook and are only discernible by the kernel that remains. I’ll eat other biryani, but this is the one I crave. I think this style may be called Sindhi Biryani in other places. Not a huge fan of Awadhi/Lucknowi or the derivative Calcutta/Kolkata Biryani because they tast…