Irrespective of who’s in the race, biryani emerges sure winner every election
M. Abbu Bhai’s kitchen at Tondiarpet has three pitchblack cauldrons of oil roaring to life as the firewood picks up heat. Onions, chillies, and whole spices sputter while the meat waits patiently for its turn. It is a relatively small order today — biryani, chicken 65, ennai kathrikai, and a sweet made of bread for a birthday party. The aroma entices even cats in the area as they promptly poke their head through the gates of his kitchen.
In a week, the kitchen, like many others in the city, will function nonstop leading up to the Lok Sabha election scheduled for April 19. Thousands of kilos of chicken and mutton biryani will be prepared from here, on orders from political parties. After all, the biryani is a meal of celebration after every election — a signal of respite for cadre who would have finished their prepoll duties; to voters who would have picked their candidate; and polling officials who would have tried to sneak in a few bites amid their stressful day. Enquiries have already begun trickling in from the DMK, the AIADMK, the NTK, the Congress and the DMDK. “However, things will get finalised only a week before the election,” says Abbu Bhai, a thirdgeneration biryani master. According to him, till about 15 years ago, biryani in Chennai was synonymous with Royapuram and the occasional plush hotel in Central and South Chennai.
It was also not associated with elections until the early 2000s, adds documentary filmmaker and commentator, Kombai S. Anwar. “The biryani is a ubiquitous favourite for people across class backgrounds and was employed as an easy bait to get voters to the polling booth. More importantly, it is easy to pack. It is probably why it became the meal of the election,” he says.
“Who would want to eat sambar rice on such a hot summer day? It is also very inconvenient,” says K. Thamin Basha, a biryani master from Old Washermenpet. Recalling an incident in Madurai in August 2023, wherein tonnes of tamarind rice was dumped, he says, “The biryani isn’t wasted like that though. Even the vegetarian version of the meal, the Brinji rice, is well loved...”
Today, distribution of biryani has spread across the city instead of only from north Chennai. A. Rahman, another biryani master, says the distribution is decentralised and there is a wider price range starting at ₹50.
“We know what goes behind bulk cooking. A lot of our knowledge comes from learning from the environment and seeing our family and friends cook. I began at the age of 12,” adds Abbu Bhai. “We have cooked for the Chief Minister’s [M.K. Stalin’s] birthday in the past. The number of parcels has risen from 5,000 to 20,000 over the years,” he says. Now, Abbu Bhai has been in talks with some party functionaries, despite quoting a higher price than many competitors.
Years of working around hot cauldrons of fire has made Abbu Bhai steelyeyed.“We are ready for elections. It’s just another day...”