The battle of the biryani

The Biryani Muqabla (Biryani preparation competition) just got bigger in its second year with more than 200 entries from all over the UAE.

Ten lucky finalists were chosen to prepare their specialty biryani dish on February 23 at the Mumtaz Mahal, the Indian specialty restaurant in the Arabian Courtyard Hotel and Spa, Dubai.

Finger-licking

The participants consisted of housewives who have impressed their families with their finger-licking dishes and they had come with their special recipes to prepare the best biryani in town.

"Almost all the biryanis were equally tasty and well prepared, but the difference could be made out in how well the meat or rice grains were cooked," said Mehta.

There were varieties of biryani such as lamb, chicken, vegetable, Hyderabadi and Rajasthani (ground flour dumpling based).

First prize

"It is fun participating in these food competitions as not only can you display your cooking skills but also interact with some very good cooks and exchange our recipes, learning new dishes," said Kavita Sanjay, a participant who cooked stuffed brinjal and potato biryani.

Eventually Habiba Moin from Karachi won the first prize by cooking delicious mutton masala biryani. She received a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur courtesy Malaysian Airlines.

Birthday

Tasneem Aslam from Hyderabad won second prize for her Hyderabadi chicken biryani and Debjani Bakshi won the third prize for her Rajasthani vegetarian biryani.

"I credit this prize to my son and husband for pushing me to participate in this competition and it has come as a surprise birthday gift," said Aslam who was celebrating her birthday the next day.

"In my books, the winner had to be the lady who passionately put her heart and soul in cooking," said chef Michael Uwe.
Puri said, "It is a unique cooking competition with equally gifted cooks sharing the same platform."

The event ended with a lunch buffet featuring all the participating biryanis. The families of the participants and guests enjoyed the gastronomical offering.

The entire event turned out to be a perfect social gathering for like-minded housewives, who know the art of keeping their families licking their fingers over and over again.

The contest

The ten finalists were divided into two groups and were given identical ingredients and cooking facilities to display their culinary skills within the two-hour deadline. The hotel chefs assisted the participants while cooking.

The cooking process took place before a panel of three judges - Rakesh Puri, popular food writer; chef Micheel Uwe, president of the Emirates Culinary Guild, and chef Gurpreet Singh Mehta of the Arabian Courtyard Hotel and Spa.

They judged the biryani based on aroma, taste, texture, overall presentation and creativity.