Behnam, Desapriya Park, Kolkata

Restaurant Name: Behnam, Desapriya Park, Kolkata
Phone: +913340019295, +917439811263
Address: 24, Lake View Rd, lake Terrace, Kalighat, Kolkata 700029 West Bengal India
Time: 11:00 Noon – 118:00 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 450
Cuisines: Biryani, North Indian, Mughlai, Awadhi, Lucknowi
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Indoor Seating, Free Parking

Did you know that biryani is the most ordered dish in India? Both big aggregators for food delivery unanimously con-firmed that in pandemic stricken India 2021, biryani has the highest demand ever. While Swiggy said that ‘the most ordered food for 2021‘ was led by Indians ordering 115 plates of biryani per minute, Zomato mentioned in their company blog that they sent out 2 biryanis every 2 seconds in 2021!

When the Mughals imported the fragrant pilaf rice from its Persian roots and cooked it with indulgent meat, and later the Nawab’s kitchens added potato (to the Calcutta variety) they couldn’t have imagined that a dish could conquer a country in such geographical frenzy. Add to that the diversity of the subcontinent and whimsical discretionary fixations across regions and today the country boasts varieties catering to tribes, traditions and temperaments. Amidst this chaos, Kolkata seems to be a Mecca for Biryani connoisseurs, with its prominent culinary heritage and close proximity to the last generation of Nawabi households. There is a latent enmity amongst each of these eating houses, to derive the right formula, unearth secrets, family traditions to get to the crown of taste. Majority fall into this temptation and lose track, yet there’s no dearth of new experiments. This week, we try Behnam, a new venture, as another one bites the dust.

Behnam, Desapriya Park, Kolkata: Food

Coming from a house of experienced and successful brand of cloud kitchens, entrepreneurial streak born out of pandemic needs, they seem
to be in capable hands. Their Asian, local Bengali and healthy option kitchens have delighted in the last two years and the menu for Behnam looks neat, practical and taste worthy. The variety may be a bit stretched, but the combos make total (read affordable) sense. We order the day’s combo of Kolkata mutton biryani (Rs. 525), Badshahi haleem combo (Rs. 599), Chicken rezala (Rs. 235) with plain naan (Rs. 60) and Shahi simai (Rs. 100) for dessert.

Plus & Minus:

The door delivery works like clock-work without complaint, though the packaging is plain Jane plastic containers. The combos are substantial meals for two —with mutton biryani, chicken chaap, couple of gulab jamuns and glass bottle of minty Burhani, while the Badshahi haleem comes with two hand rolled parathas and gulab jamun set. First, the biryani has full intent, but the technique is questionable and effort frivolous, the aloo under cooked, a boiled egg and two pieces of succulent mutton, yet the taste jars with nothing but strong artificial fragrance. Both the chicken chaap and the chicken rezala fail to make it to mark, generous breast pieces of chicken doused in thick sauces, seem like an easy assembly job rather than painstakingly slow cooked subtle dishes from yore; the breads are surprisingly light and supple to mop up the juices. The stewed haleem lacked vigour and refinement, with decadent ingredients of bone-less mutton, ample broken dry fruits and lentils, it required much patience to nurture a great dish. Finally, the creamy vermicelli or simai dessert cooked in milk needed further chilling and is not a great delivery option, but the gulab jamuns are luscious, freshly fried and dipped in sweet syrup.