Biryanibonanzaforvegetarianfamily!

TheUdeshishavecarved outa niche for themselves withMughlaicuisine, writesQUAIDNAJMI

It wasleft to a pure vegetarian Gujaratifamilyin l\fombai co whipup andserve some of themost popularnonvegetarian Mughlaicuisine -speciallytheir lipsmacking ChickenBiryani,MurtonBi.ryani and other varieties.

The renownedBorivali Biryani Centre- or simply,BBC-started in 2002 asasmallmobilehawking stall on amain roadcorner near d1eBorivali railway station, with tbehome-cooked biryanisselling like, well,hot cakes[ "\Y/e stressedon9uality and tasteandthereby,rotalcustomer satisfaction. lewas a tiny start andwe could barely managethe floodof ordersfromourmix of customers,"PradeepUdeshi,who started thestall withhisyounger son Hardik, says.

The nameandfame,rhe wiique tasteof d1ebiryani with d1e perfect blendof all thespices spreadlike wildfire andwithin five years, theUdeshis opened asmaU restaurant inMalad.

Again,that proved too small for thecustomer and business volumesandthey moved to a larger space in Malad and by 2010 inBorivali, the birthplaceof the family's biryani business.

"Today, wehaveseven outletsin MumbaiandThane.Twoare run byus andtherestare franchises, bm we ensure thatsame casteand quality wid1ouc fail," assureselder son Maharshi, a cateringgraduate.

TheUdeshis prepare andtaste all the non-vegitems daily for quality reasons, but otherwise they remain avegetarian family.Their simpleviewis, "Biryaniis our bread andbutter, so wespareno efforts."

Mallarshipersonallytrainsall the chefsrigorouslyforfourSL'Cmonths at theBBCBorivali headquartersto makecertain iliey follow the fan1ily traditionswhich have made theirspecial biryani ahouseholdname in northern Mmi1baiand Thane in the past one-and-half decade.

The fad1er-sontrio is credited with bringingthe good old biryani, once the monopoly of d1eroyalty,onto the commoner's palate, at affordable rares.

Iofact, in most classy restamanrsin Mumbai and other places, biryaniis notthe mainitemonthe menu,but one of d1eexpensi\7especialities, they explained.

Thespic-n-spankitchen .in Borivali hums wid1acti\Ticy fromdaybreakas d1echefs and theirassistantsstart preparing the biryanis andother Mughlai itemsfor the ravenous lunchrin1e crowds andcontinue d1eprocess unbroken for the evening diners. There are occasional corporate/ bulkotders.

The Udeshis saidthat aU the biryanisare cookedon charcoal flames bythe d11111p11khtmethod which emits the special aromatic fragrance-it spreads out onto the main road,luring more hungry patrons!

Interspersedarehundreds of take-away or home-delivery orders for their yum.mychicken, mutton, fish andvegetablebiryanis,besides a hostof otherMughlaiofferings.

"The secret of biryani is chat it mustbeconswnedimmediately, failingwhich the patrons don't enjoy the taste,as the flavour of therice andmasalasmi.'Ced coged1er rends to go flat,"says Mal1arshi.

The Udeshis' 'BBC' brandname isprotected andit wonthe rights to use it even from die venerable BBCmediaconglomerate,besides other five-star hotelsin Mumbai. !ANS