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India’s love for biryani, a one-pot rice-based dish, is unmatchable. No matter which state you visit, you will find a unique variant of the recipe. Each household has a secret recipe that they enjoy during feasts, weekends, and celebrations. To commemorate this love, Slurrp organised the Grand Biryani Celebration, between March 16 to 17, as a part of HTCity Unwind 2024, presented by Daawat and co-powered by Zappfresh and Goldiee Masale, with Glen as gifting partner.
It was a bonanza for foodies as well as home chefs who attended the event over the weekend. From biryani to kebab workshops, the spectators were left amazed by what celebrity and regional chefs like Kunal Kapur, Nishant Choubey, Harpal Singh Sokhi, Manzilat Fatima and Abida Rasheed brought to the table. The cherry on the cake was the two contests in which the top-picked home chefs participated and won exciting prizes.
March 16, 2024 - Day 1 Of Slurrp's Grand Biryani Celebration At HTCity Unwind 2024
The first day of Slurrp’s Grand Biryani Celebration started with a bang as Abida Rasheed, chef and expert of Moplah cuisine, demonstrated her family recipe of Malabar biryani. The spectators also got to taste the delicacy and enjoy the delicacy from Kerala, God’s Own Country.
Next came Chef Nishant Choubey, a celebrity chef, who started a fire on stage with his charm and interactive session with the audience. While showcasing how to make vegetarian kebabs, the chef kept the audience engaged with people, danced with them, and impressed everyone with his dish and tips for plating.
Nishant Choubey’s demonstration was followed by a kebab-making contest in which two home chefs - Neha from New Delhi and Hema hailing from Mumbai participated. Chef Kunal Kapur, the Indian restaurateur and chef, announced Hema as the winner who took the winning amount of Rs 25000 and exciting prizes from the sponsor's home, and Neha received goodies for her effort and unique dish.
Kunal Kapur made the audience go crazy with his presence and told exciting tales of how biryani has developed over the years in the last segment, Handiside Chat with Slurrp’s Editorial Head Shreya Goswami. From talking about the origins of biryani to settling the debate if veg biryani is worthy to be called a variant of biryani, the chef’s #Kunalish wisdom sure made the spectators take a few notes.
March 17, 2024 - Day 2 Of Slurrp's Grand Biryani Celebration At HTCity Unwind 2024
Day two began with Chef Manzilat Fatima, chef and expert in Awadhi cuisine, demonstrating the traditional recipe of Kolkata biryani. She shared how it is a cousin of Lucknow biryani and famous potato got introduced to it when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah lived in Metiabruz, a suburb in Kolkata, West Bengal.
The second segment was an innovative cook-off between two home chefs - Farheen, hailing from Bengaluru, and Aparna Deb from New Delhi, where the two had to prepare a savoury-sweet fusion to be eaten after devouring biryani. Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, the celebrity chef, declared Farheen as the winner for making delicious beetroot kheer.
However, Chef Sokhi was not at the event only to overlook the contest but also to demonstrate Hyderabadi biryani. Specialising in Hyderabadi cuisine, the chef shared his tips and tricks to ace the recipe of India’s beloved biryani and interacted with the audience to answer their queries.
Here is what celebrated chefs and sponsors had to say about the event,
Abida Rasheed
"Biryani is not a dish you make every day. It is not only a meal, it binds the family. Everyone sits and eats it together."
Nishant Choubey
"Taste is the supreme authority, but the food has to always look good. You eat with your eyes first. I get very excited when I cook vegetarian food because the ingredients are unlimited."
Kunal Kapur
"Any celebration is incomplete without food. There is no festival on which we don't cook food. Even for fasting, we have separate delicacies. We make everything around food and biryani is the centre of it. This dish is liked by almost everyone."
Manzilat Fatima
"Whenever we were celebrating or expecting guests at our house, biryani used to be a must. Now it is served with accompaniments, but in my house, if it was biryani, you ate just that."
Harpal Singh Sokhi
"Biryani is a process. You need to do it every day to master it. Each recipe has its own garam masala and an individual's touch."
Deepanshu Manchnada, CEO and Founder of Zappfresh, and Bhakti Kumar, angel investor and brand advisor at Zappfresh
“I never knew Biryani was so diverse and chefs were so passionate about sharing their pearls of wisdom on the topic. Overall, it was a surreal experience to partner with Slurrp for the biryani festival.”
K. Ganapathy Subramaniam, VP & Head of Marketing, Daawat
“The vibe of the event was infectious - it was a fantastic experience to join hands with Slurrp and the HT team to bring alive the Daawat Slurrp Biryani Fest - at the HT Unwind. I'm sure the Delhi food lovers thoroughly enjoyed the irresistible combination of Daawat, the finest, Slurrp & the finest MasterChefs.”
