Biriyanis are an indispensable part of the menu in just about every restaurant in the city. Of the many varieties of the dish available, Malabari Dum Biriyani is a hot favourite. In fact, thanks to the popularity of this dish, the city has its own set of restaurants that offer Malabari Dum Biriyani as their pièce de résistance. Ajwa, one among these, has opened a new eatery at Venpalavattom, on the Kovalam Bypass road.
“Ajwa has an interesting story behind its inception,” says Muhamed Naushad O.K., one the managing partners of the restaurant, who is originally from Kannur.
“For weddings in the family, we used to prepare food by arranging cooks. We got several accolades about the quality of food served in these weddings. That was when Mujeeb Shamsudeen, a friend of mine from Thiruvananthapuram, suggested that we conduct a Dum Biriyani food fete in the capital city,” explains Muhamed. The food festival turned out to be a huge success and was an inspiration for them to find a permanent outlet.
“Mujeeb and I, along with our friends Mammootty Keyi C.N. and Abdul Razak A.C. (who is a chef), set up a biriyani takeaway counter in the city by the name of Ajwa (the name comes from an expensive variety of date grown in Saudi Arabia). Inspired by the success of the takeaway counter, the first Ajwa restaurant was set up in 2012, at Panavila. Since then, there has been no looking back,” says Muhamed.
My first brownie point for the new restaurant was, in fact, for its large parking lot; something that most restaurants in the city lack. The restaurant is well-decked up, with pleasant interiors. I make myself comfortable and start deliberating on my choice of dishes. I had to choose between chicken, mutton and vegetable biriyani, priced at Rs. 160, Rs. 190 and Rs.130, respectively.
The menu also has fish biriyani, but I was told that the dish is available only at 12 noon. There’s also chicken fry (Rs. 150, per plate). Chicken and mutton biriyani specials are also available and slightly costlier. Muhamed tells me that the special variants of biriyani have more quantity. Diners can quench their thirst with lemon tea at Rs 10.
I ordered the chicken biriyani, along with a plate of mutton biriyani as takeaway. In no time, the chicken biriyani arrives. It was just irresistible.
The rice had evidently been sautéed in ghee, adding to the aroma and making the dish quite delectable. The good quantity of juicy chicken pieces in it is also worth mention.
The biriyani is served along with sweet and sour pickle and salad, which add on to the appeal of the flavoursome meal. The mutton biriyani was also memorable for the generous and luscious mutton pieces. I concluded the delightful meal in true Malabari style with a piping hot glass of lemon tea.
Ajwa at Venpalavattom is open from 11 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
Contact: 0471-2504919, 9895540104 or 9447729740.
