ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Restaurant Name: Mani’s Dum Biryani, Thoraipakkam, Chennai
Phone: +919840541658
Address: 5/396, Rajivgandhi Salai, St. Thomas Mount Block, Kancheepuram, Thuraipakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600006 India
Time: 11:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 450
Cuisines: Biryani, South Indian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Indoor Seating
Mani’s Dum Biryani, Thoraipakkam, Chennai: Decor
Most often, when the food is good, decor doesn’t matter. All one needs is a clean, well air-conditioned interiors and good service. Mani’s Dum Biryani has all three. Large tables, comfortable seating, and a bare minimum of adornments tell you that the restaurant is confident of its food. And here, it is their biryani.
Mani’s Dum Biryani, Thoraipakkam, Chennai: Food
Mani’s arrived in Chennai after charming taste buds at several outlets in Bengaluru. The Egg Biryani is made using short grained Jeeraga Samba rice. The egg sitting on top has been hard boiled and deep fried, so it has a thin, skin-like layer surrounding it. The rice itself is well cooked and, although not dum-cooked, has evenly distributed flavours. All dry masalas come from Bengaluru every other day. While the rice itself is spicy, when had with egg, it gets balanced out well.
A mix of the cucumber raita that comes along helps mute the sting from the chilli. The gravy that comes along is tangy with tamarind and helps add a new dimension to the biryani.
The Paneer Biryani has tiny cubes of deep-fried paneer, which somehow manage to let the flavours penetrate. For this one, Mani’s uses Basmati rice, which, apparently, is the rice of choice in Chennai. Made using a green masala, the Paneer Biryani has the distinct presence of curry leaves and green chillies. Besides, it has whole green chillies making their presence felt. Sliced in half, there’s rice sticking to them, and eating that rice is quite a treat.
Kerala Porota, layered and flaky, is made using a particular brand of maida which comes from Bengaluru. The locally available maida did not live up to the place’s standards! The kurma that comes along is like any other kurma. And the Paneer Perattal could’ve been better.
Dessert is Gulab Jamuns, which turn out to be small, soft and satisfy the sweet tooth quite comfortably.
Plus & Minus:
Mani’s Dum Biryani has many varieties of biryani. They’ve thought of every possible kind of diner and have something for everyone. Regular biryanis are for the single diner (or a couple of smaller eaters) and Bucket Biryanis are meant to feed an entire party. There’s one particular biryani I’ll never forget — the Chicken IPL Biryani. Their take-away menu very specifically tells you how many pieces of starters you can expect in each dish.
