Biryani Pot - Simple and Soulful

Biryani At Its Best

I had recently visited Biryani Pot in Umm Suquim area, located by the road side, where parking is not a problem. I honestly was surprised to see the outlet from out, it looked a bit small from the outside with few tables set out side. The weather is not friendly these days to sit out and enjoy a meal, so we opted to walk in. As I guessed, It was not a big area, about five twin sharing tables was set, the interiors were simple and vibrant.  Then two shiny  plaques on the wall got my attention and what  I saw really surprised me. Biriyani Pot was the winner of Whatson Awards 2014 & 2015 of 'Favourite Indian Restaurant' under AED 400. Thus the people have spoke and I was only there to enjoy my evening, after seeing such accolades, your really excited.

Was met by Mr. Sengupta who introduced the concept to us, explained  the backstory, history and about the menu. While all the conversation was going on, the aroma in the air was punching our noses to get on with the ordering. To start, they gave us a mango flavoured drink, mixed with lemon, salt and a bit of masala, needless to say much, because I had three of these fine drinks, for the main drink I ordered a Mango Lassi, fresh as it comes, by now I am really hungry to order. Then I was showed their menu where you get to make your own salads and wrap. Here you get to choose for the salad, a green, veggies, protein, dressing and toppings. I ordered the Rocca salad with chicken and the rest, sir this was such a fine salad, the beauty here is that you can choose what ever suits your tastebuds.  For the wrap I got the pickle bread with chicken tikka, this was really good, perfectly grilled and the filling was full, no half attempt here. They are really gracious in the portion sizes, the flavours in the pickle bread was very evident, that was my favorite.

Then we ordered their mix grill, this contained tandoori chicken tikka, malai chicken tikka, lamb kebab and tandoori prawns. A ideal platter to share and the flavours were great. Chicken was perfectly grilled, all have the smokey flavours and meat has been well marinated, each bite is a fine testament of the flavours that these guys are famous for. We got the dhal makhni, and naan,  simple and soulful, just as you have had back home. The slow cook, breakdown the dhal and makes is so soft and the aroma for this is fine. Break a piece of the naan and dip it into the dhal and just take a mouthful of this, Sir, you will be simply transported to some unseen happy place, this is so good.

Now wanting to try their famed Quinoa Biryani, I have never had a Quinoa biryani and these are some of the few restaurants that sell this, healthy, delicious mix. I was not sure what to expect, but with it same to the table in the clay pot and then the server began to unpack this goodness, oh mymy. I was excited.  The quinoa has been perfectly cooked, I liked it as it was not soggy, and the chicken pieces were really good. I can begin to tell you how top this Biryani was. The ingredients and the spices and herbs were all in one unison giving out a perfect blend of fine flavours. You cant stop with a few mouths and I have been waiting for this the whole evening. Sir, this was fine and I have no doubt why this is rated so high. Really a soul filling meal, I was still amazed that such a small place could be such an iconic place for Biryani.

To end the dinner we ordered the only two available dessert,  Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai and the winner for me was the Gulam Jamun, hands down. Overall, It was a fine evening here, had a full hearty meal and enjoyed the fresh flavours. The service guys are very good and friendly. JD, was taking good care of us and ensured that we were well taken care of. This is definitely a place to return and this place I will highly recommend. This was a fine Pot to enjoy.