Biryani contest hotting up;varied flavours to the fore

Tellapur: The “Ghar ki Biryani” contest organised by The Hans India was held at Sri Ambedkar Colony in Tellapur on Friday. Housewives brought home-cooked delectable biryanis, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, in various flavours and a rich aroma filled the competition arena. Even before entering the contest, the biryanis won hearts of the colony residents and neighbours. A large number of people thronged the venue, curious to see which variety would win laurels.

The occasion also provided housewives a rare opportunity to mingle with their neighbours and colony residents. They were seen bonding over to know from one another secrets of spicy, delicious and healthy food fare for entire families. It was a common refrain that but for such occasions, they would not have come together as they hardly get any chance to meet with one another. One of the residents, said, “We all are so busy in our household works that we never get any chance to meet and have a get-together.

The “Ghar ki Biryani” contest is a unique contest where elders like us get a chance to meet and have a fun time. We thank The Hans India and the sponsors for coming out with such a beautiful concept where the colony housewives get opportunity to showcase their cooking talents and elders get to socialise.”Chef K Karunakar, faculty from Regency College of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Khairatabad, who was the judge, after tasting a spoonful of biryani from each platter, said, “The contestants who have come today have cooked better biryani than others till now, with a blend of homemade masalas and spices.

There were a few contestants who had really cooked very tasty biryani but as per the format we have to choose only one out of all in veg and non-veg categories.” In the non-veg category, the winner was S Vidya who presented Maharashtrian style chicken biryani. N Padma with her unique mixed vegetable biryani bagged the first prize in the veg category. Vidya said, “I cooked it in Maharashtrian style with homemade masalas and Maharashtrian spices to give it a little fusion of Hyderabad and Maharashtra, and I’m very happy that I won.

All my hard work since morning has finally paid off.” Padma said, “I thought of making a different dish from others. So I made mixed vegetable biryani which had all healthy vegetables along with some nuts to make it delicious. I also used organic masalas to keep the taste as homely as possible because the biryanis that we taste in hotels are very different from what we cook in our houses, I never expected to win because the competition was tough as the chef said, and all participants gave their best today. I specially want to thank The Hans India for organising the event in our colony and giving an opportunity for us, housewives.”

Hans India General Manager B Sai Reddy said, “This is the 16th society where we are conducting this contest and the date for finals will be declared once we reach out to 20 societies. Housewives are bringing home-cooked biryanis, but for the finale the contestants have to do cooking live in front of our judges which is a challenge for them as well as for the judges. There will be 40 housewives, the winners from 20 societies, competing in veg and non-veg categories in the finals for the best biryani title.”