MicroPakistan

Whenever I am out of Pakistan one of the things I miss the most is Pakistani food. I know it can be heavy, it can be oily, it can be unhealthy, but it tastes like nothing else. It has a certain divine taste that once you take a bite you forget about all its negatives. Not all Pakistani food is the same and I have my favourites - Nihari, Qurma, Biryani, Pulao, Paya, Tel ka Gosht, the Barbecue stuff (Kebabs, Tikkas, Botis), Paalak Gosht to name just a few.

Out of all these Biryani is my favourite. I have a unique reason for liking Biryani over the others, but that I’ll talk about later. First, a little decription. The name is derived from the Persian word beryan which means ‘fried’ or ‘roasted’. It is made by preparing rice in multiple layers (2-3 I am not sure), with the different layers having different colours (white or yellow-orange), mixed with meat (commonly used types are chicken, beef, mutton, or qeema while fish, quail, shrimp, deer and hare are rarely used), vegetables and a concoction of spices known as the masala. Don’t know how it works in the middle, but all the layers are mixed eventually so that the distinct colours - yellow and white - are visible. However, there are many ways of making Biryani and this might just be one of the many. Apparently, the Nizam of Hyderabad’s kitchen boasted 49 different kinds. My mother’s kitchen boasts 5 - Sindhi, Bombay, Malay, Hyderabadi….and Regular I guess.

As a kid I wasn’t a big fan of Biryani, but recently I have witnessed a propensity to eat it thrice a day without any guilt (its quite fatty and oily) or getting fed-up. At the same time, it seems that the city of Karachi has also started loving this type of food in great abundance. Biryani has always had a special place in the hearts of Karachiites since 1969 when Student Biryani started off. Even though fast food as a concept is almost as old as cities themselves Student Biryani could be credited with being the first indigenous set-up in Pakistan. And did it take off! Starting from a small one-room shop with a few degs it has turned into a three-story multi-million venture, providing free-delivery all across the city. Now, just in the Defence area, there are Biryani Centre, Indus Foods, Biryani Inn and many more dedicated just to fast-food Biryani. And these are fast turning into fast-food chains providing cheap, spicy, cleanly wrapped, maybe not so hygenically prepared, food to be delivered free.

Now, for my reason for loving it that extra bit. I am generally a very lazy person, or so I believe. Actually, a lot of the people around me would agree. Most other dishes I named above require to be eaten with some sort of bread, which is extra effort. Hence, Biryani happens to be as delicious as anything else and only requires me to dig in with a spoon or simply my hands. I know it sounds stupid!

If the West has successfully exported to the world the ‘Hamburger’ as the quintessential 20th century fast-food, the 21st might just be ‘Biryani’s’. It really is picking up fast. We just need to make it more convenient and less messier and it’s ready to go!