Unique recipes of the same dish: Karachi's biryani vendors compete in delicious rivalry

Every Karachi neighbourhood has its own canteens with biryani vendors selling their dishes

Published: September 28, 2023 11:04 AFP and Compiled by Dona Cherian, Assistant Online Editor

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Eying each other across a stream of traffic, rival Pakistani biryani joints in Karachi vie for customers, serving a fiery medley of meat, rice and spice that unites and divides biryani lovers. Image Credit: AFP

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Rivals sell a niche version of the dish, steeped in the same vats, with matching prices and trophies commending their quality. Image Credit: AFP

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"Our biryani is not only different from theirs but unique in the world," says restaurateur Muhammad Saqib, who layers his "bone marrow biryani" with herbs. "When a person bites into it he drowns in a world of flavours," the 36-year-old says. Image Credit: AFP

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"We were the ones who started the biryani business here first," the 27-year-old claims, as staff scoop out sharing platters with a gut-punch of masala. "It's our own personal and secret recipe." Image Credit: AFP

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Every Karachi neighbourhood has its own canteens fronted by vendors clanking a spatula against the inside of biryani pots. The recipe has endless variations. Image Credit: AFP

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Both agree on one thing. "You can't find biryani like Pakistan's anywhere in the world," says Saqib. "Whether it's a celebration or any other occasion, biryani always comes first," according to Zain. Image Credit: AFP

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Beef, chicken, vegetables and seafood - biryani recipes change but love for the dish is universal. Image Credit: AFP

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The origins of biryani are hotly contested. However, it is generally accepted the word has Persian roots and it is argued the dish was popularised in the elite kitchens of the Mughal Empire, which spanned South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Image Credit: AFP

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In spite of that pedigree, its defining quality is permutation. Quratul Ain Asad, 40, spends Sunday morning cooking for her husband and son, descendants of a family that arrived in Karachi from the Indian town of Tonk in 1948. Image Credit: AFP

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But at the dinner table, they feast not on an heirloom recipe but a TV chef's version with a cooling yoghurt sauce and a simple shredded salad. Asad insists on Karachi's biryani supremacy. Image Credit: AFP

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"You will not like biryani from anywhere else once you've tasted Karachi's biryani," Asad added. Image Credit: AFP

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Cooked in bulk, biryani is also a staple of charity donations. At Ghazi Foods, 28-year-old Ali Nawaz paddles out dozens of portions of biryani into plastic pouches, which are delivered to poor neighbourhoods on motorbikes. Image Credit: AFP

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A minute after one of those bikes stops, the biryani is gone, seized by kids and young adults. "People pray for us when they eat it," says Nawaz. "It feels good that our biryani reaches the people." Image Credit: AFP

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Unique recipes of the same dish: Karachi's biryani vendors compete in delicious rivalry

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Unique recipes of the same dish: Karachi's biryani vendors compete in delicious rivalry

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