Biryani from ‘Paradise’ comes to Chennai

On a busy Thursday evening, as we set out on a drive along the OMR, we noticed a flurry of activity that was unfolding outside what seemed to be a newly-opened eatery. 

As we drove closer, making way through hordes of people in queue that went all the way from the parking lot to the service lane and then spilling onto the main road, we couldn’t help but join the crowd. 

The restaurant, that began as a small café in Secunderabad, in 1953, has overtime become such an integral part of Hyderabad’s culinary culture and for most people in Chennai, a trip to Hyderabad is often incomplete without a plate of ‘Paradise’ biryani. Their only grouse, if any, was that every time they had a craving for it, they had to take a train or a plane to Hyderabad to get their hands on it. 

Now, with biryani -loving Chennai getting its own Paradise, it was time to celebrate. The Chennai outlet is spread across three levels and seats 166 people at a given time. A full-fledged takeaway complements the restaurant that is beautifully designed with tasteful interiors and a state-of-the-art kitchen.  

As we finally made way to our table negotiating the overwhelming crowd, we were joined by Chef Bakshi who hails from Hyderabad. He introduced us to his list of Paradise specials, starting with an assorted platter of kebabs — chicken tikka, kalmi and hara bhara. 

Few minutes later, a waiter walked out with delectable looking plates of starters, specially made by Chef Bakshi. First, we tried the chilli chicken — wok tossed cubes of deep fried chicken, coated with tangy chilli sauce. The dish was a perfect melange of hot, sweet and sour flavours. Next in line was golden fried prawns. 

The succulent tiger prawns beautifully marinated and deep fried, served with a hot garlic sauce, left us asking for more. We also tasted the Paradise special appetiser, the Apollo fish.The Hyderabad-styled scrumptious fish tempered with the aromatic flavours of garlic, ginger, curry leaves and spiced with the heat of red chillies paste (which also adds some vibrant red colour to the dish), had y absorbed all these wonderful flavours within. It was then time to try what the restaurant was all about, its biryani. We tried both the mutton and chicken dum biryani.

The meat was well-cooked; juicy and tender. The biryani was made with aromatic and long-grained basmati rice (quite different from the seeraga samba variety used here for biryani) was cooked in layers, flavoured with saffron was a divine treat. It was served with a raita and mirchi ka salan , the latter a real treat and had us licking it off our fingers. 

The flavour of the biryani was also a welcome change from the otherwise mediocre versions that Chennai’s ‘authentic’ Andhra restaurants claim to serve. Now, no true Hyderabadi meal is complete without a rich sinful plate of khubani ka meetha or double ka mee tha, and since we couldn’t decided which one to have, we ordered both! The apricots in khubani ka meetha were dark brown and pulpy, just how they’re supposed to be and blended perfectly with the lime zest that mellows the sweetness of the dish. 

The double ka meeth, with the ghee -fried bread, doused in rose water and coated with condensed milk, was pure decadence. The dry fruit topping added a crunch to the dish. The taste of these dishes is quintessential Hyderabad.