Today am going to tell you about one of my favourite dishes, the mighty, all-conquering, yumm at any point of time, in any mood, with any company, and the dish for which I can sell my soul to the Devil… err, I seem to have gone over the top, but I do love Chicken Biryani absolutely!
Chicken Biryani, the kinds I’d give my left hand to eat, is the Andhra cuisine one. Endowed with the right amount of spices, taunting me with the medium sized chicken pieces, with the bowl of raitha alongside, and another bowl of mirchi-ka-salan, the plate of Chicken biryani, I realise is as much a favourite of many others as it is mine. In all this dreamy Chicken Biryani memories, am almost drooling over the keyboard, Oh! someone get me a plate of Chicken Biryani at once I say, with a boiled egg perched atop the mount of Chicken Biryani, and a little lemon slice peeping from the side… aah! Bliss!
Here’s a list of my favourite Chicken Biryani haunts _
* Nandini - Small in budget and great in taste, the Chicken Biryani at Nandini has never disappointed me. Branches of Nandini are scatterred all over Bangalore, but I must make special mention of the Nandini at the Domlur-Airport Road junction. That’s where I last had a Chicken Biryani. Their quantity is huge, or so it seems to a person like me with average appetite! I sometimes mix the Andhra gun-powder(!) to make it more spicy, but I mostly dig it with the raitha they provide.
* Even before Nandinis adorned the corners of Bangalore, I discovered Chicken Biryani at the tender age of 2(!), in a little place in Majestic, Annapoorna. I have no idea if this one still exists, but my parents frequented that place when they first landed in Bangalore and Majestic was like a good hang-out back then with all the major theatres and restaurants and connectivity with every part of the city. My parents sat me atop the table and left me the salt-shaker and the pepper-shaker to play with while gorging themselves with Chicken Biryani. Apparently, I raised a huge hue and cry about this ugly treatment meted out to me, and turned around, and gathered a fistful of Chicken Biryani off my Mom’s banana leaf, yeah they were into the banana leaf thing in a big way back then, and stuffed my little mouth. It has been ever-lasting love for me and Chicken Biryani ever since!
* Another little place serving yumm Chicken Biryani and Andhra cuisine those days was a restaurant called ‘RR‘. They moved, and have branches too. But I donot die for their Chicken Biryani anymore. Something is missing, am not quite sure what.
* Annachi, the one above the Coffee Day outlet on 100 Ft road, Indiranagar, well-known for serving authentic south-indian cuisine in its tastiest form, has great Chicken Biryani too. But its spicier than most other places, 3 minutes into the Biryani, am puffing, panting, sweating, gulping water, sprinkling sugar on my poor tongue on fire, etc. On the whole, not my best experience with the Chicken Biryani there.
* Nagarjuna, the branch at Residency road, next to Corner House, serves one of the yummy tasting Chicken Biryanis too. But I prefer the Nagarjuna Savoy, a more spaced out version of the same Nagarjuna, a more fine-dining place, a better service, a little more upscale. They serve good Chicken Biryani too, and I head there if I want to spend more than usual for my Chicken Biryani. Nagarjuna Savoy, I suppose you know, lies hidden behind Amravati, on the narrow street that leads to Symphony theatre from the Residency road.
* Amravati is another Andhra cuisine place, but I don’t like their service, their congested seating, and their Biryani. Yeah, not the best Biryani for sure. Why’d I head to Amravati then?
* There are many other insignificant ones, the Mayuri on New BEL road, which has pathetic service, but decent Biryanis, Gonguras, Shreedevi, Maharaja, which fakes the regular Chicken Biryani as the special Nati Koli Biryani.
This is my short and sweet list of Chicken Biryani junctions I recommend in Bangalore. Any favourite of yours that I missed?
. Hey when you are in Hyd , dont forget to try out Zafrani Biryani at Mohini`s at BasheerBagh .Its one of its kind 
for all you Bombayites reading…one of the best Chicken Biryanis in the city (well, it’s in Bandra…but you get the point!) is Lucky’s. This is a hole in the wall place across from Bandra station that serves up the most scrumptious briyani. Don’t expect much in terms of ambience but you will go home totally sated after a meal there.