For a change, I do not like bones in my Biryani meat. I understand it’s kinda strange, but that’s just me. So recently, when a few cloud kitchens and restaurants started making a Chicken Tikka Biryani, I was super happy. I mean, chicken tikka is love and who doesn’t love biryani … And thus came the idea of having a compilation of my favorite Chicken Tikka biryani in Kolkata.
Besstoo
Besstoo is one of the good cloud kitchens in town as of now. They don’t have a restaurant in town (or that’s what I know) but operate from multiple cloud kitchens across the city. The low capital investment for restaurant infrastructure has enabled them to give good deals for their product. The primary USP is good portion size and a standard discount in pricing. Well, they have Biryani with multiple variations. From the standard Chicken/ Mutton biryani to Chicken Tikka Biryani to Reshmi chicken Tikka biryani to Rara Meat biryani. I guess, the rice is prepared centrally and meat is added on top of it, as per order. For some, this may seem like a weakness- but for a regular consumer like me, this ensures a uniform taste (with meat getting changed).
The chicken Tikka Biryani (serving 2), after taking all possible discounts, comes at 241/- and consists of 5 pcs of chicken tikka, 2 pcs of potato and rice. The package is sufficient for 1 heavy eater or 1.5 moderately hungry souls. The flip side is, the size of the chicken pcs varies with each order. So, if it’s your lucky day, you get 5 decent pcs- else I’ve experienced 3 chicken tikka pcs cut into 5. I have no complaints with the taste- it’s good and the package is value for money. And another thing. For them who like their chicken tikka, well done (to the extent of getting few burnt edges), this is the place to order from.
Warning: potato pcs (in biryani) from this place have no relation with the Biryani aroma- so, please be aware.
Hanglaatherium
Hanglaatherium is the brainchild of my friend Sunando Banerjee and his friends and has been serving Biryani for the last 9+ years. And being the opinionated Bengali, I always cribbed about having a chicken Tikka Biryani on the menu. But somehow he probably felt the need for it and it got introduced a couple of months back.
The good part of this version is the interesting spice mix. It’s flavored with star anise and slit green chilly and thus the taste is different from the usual Kolkata biryani variation. The Chicken Tikka pcs are decent and quite tasty and this dish is a welcome change. I must say, though this Biryani is what I’m in love with recently, I still feel their best dish is the Dilli 6- a.k.a tandoori chicken rubbed with butter and cream, Old Delhi styled.
Chacccha Jaan
Chaccha Jaan Biryani aur Kebab wale is one of the newest entrants in the Kolkata cloud kitchen market. They specialize in the old-Delhi styled Mughlai food and the menu is quite interesting. their menu card is extremely well designed and packaging is pretty good. Tastewise, Chicken Tikka Biryani from this place is quite distinct. If you like your biryani slightly soggy or with gila cut, this is your place to order from. The meat is slightly moist and I guess, it’s kept that way intentionally, to retain the juiciness. On a bad day, you might find some gravy in your biryani, but on a good day, it’ll be perfect. The Chicken Tikka biryani is quite spicy here and certainly not meant for the faint-hearted. Taste is good but different. If you love Pehelwan Ki biryani from the Jama Masjid in Delhi, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The Butter Chicken (in the pic) was good though.
Biryanishk by Biryani Company
This is another cloud Kitchen with a couple of physical outlets in the city. And as they’ve opened up a branch near our office at Beliaghata, I had to taste their Chicken Tikka Biryani. Well, the packaging is decent and I personally liked the use of non-plastic cutlery. But not sure whether it was bad days for the two occasions that I’ve ordered from there, the Biryani was pretty average. The Chicken Tikka pcs were undercooked (the marination was raw, meat was cooked) and the meat probably needed another round of oil basting. But on the positive side, the piece of Aloo was the tastiest of the lot and they make a damn good white Biryani with Gobindobhog rice. So, an average experience for me.
My opinion, personally
Honestly, I like Biryani and as I’ve said, no bone in my meat. So, all the above places were good, but each had their own unique specialty. Wherein, Besstoo is an extreme value-for-money package, Hanglatherim offers an interesting taste. And Chacha Jaan serves a spicier gila cut. I understand, my good food may not match with your good food and this list is definitely not the final one. Do let me know your favorite places for Chicken Tikka Biryani (in the comment section) and let’s share more stories.
Bon apetit !!!
I can be reached at indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com
