Half the calls that a restaurateur received on Tuesday and Wednesday were about one thing — booking a table for Eid lunch or dinner. The eatery is known for its biryani.
A man who delivers food for an online aggregator delivered 23 orders on Thursday afternoon. Twenty of them were biryani orders.
In Kolkata, any festival is a celebration of the palate. Eid is no exception. If there is a day that is synonymous with Kolkata’s most beloved dish, it has to be Eid.
“One of every two calls that I received on Tuesday and Wednesday was a request to pre-book tables,” said Shiladitya Chaudhuri of Oudh 1590, which has 11 outlets in
Kolkata.
The volume of biryani sold on Thursday was more than double that is sold on a usual holiday, he said.
About a dozen restaurant owners reported a big difference between the order patterns on other festive days or public holidays and Eid.
“People in Kolkata love to eat out on any occasion or festival. But on other days, they will order everything. Biryani might still be the most-ordered dish but other items are also in demand. On Eid, 90 per cent of the diners order biryani. Ditto for online orders,” said a veteran restaurateur who requested not to be named.
Arunava Majumdar, 39, who lives in Behala, went to Asansol on an official trip on Wednesday. He returned home on Thursday morning and took his parents to a biryani outlet.
They ordered two types of biryani and kebabs.
“I don’t get to spend a lot of time with my parents. I did not want to miss out on an Eid lunch with them,” said Majumdar.
Food-lore has it that biryani came to Kolkata with Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of Awadh, who arrived in the city in 1856. Today, it is a living example of the melting pot culture of the city.
“I travel a lot. From Darjeeling to Diamond Harbour, biryani outlets have cropped up everywhere. That is the essence of Bengal, borrowing something and making it her own,” said Shahanshah Mirza, the great-great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, born and brought up in the city.
“On any given day, the number of Hindus eating biryani is much more than Muslims. Most Muslim homes make their own biryani on Eid. The huge demand for biryani on Eid can be attributed to non-Muslims,” said Kabir Azhar, director of Aminia Restaurants.
The chain sold over 7,000 plates on Thursday. “The demand for biryani on Eid is only surpassed during Durga Puja,” he said.
Around 2.30pm, at least 50 people were waiting outside the Park Circus branch of Arsalan, another chain popular for its biryani. A battery of delivery executives of online food aggregators swarmed the place.
Riyaz Ahmed, a delivery executive, said: “I have delivered 23 orders till now. Twenty of them were biryani.”