JOIN USA foodie himself, Abrar Sait decided to start something of his own to give people the real taste of ‘biryani’. That’s how ‘Aqni’ came into being. He runs the joint with his brother Saeed Jaffery.
The 2 brothers learnt the basics from their father and now they not only serve the authentic muslim ‘biryani’ but have also extended the menu to include some dishes that they’ve experimented with and which worked well. “The ‘biryani’ has always been our forte but we wanted to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the ‘biryani’ joints across the city. We have managed to give the regular dishes a different taste. We have explored ways to present the ordinary things in a unique way,” explains Abrar.
The eatery is located on the main road, near HBR layout, and is popular for its ‘Cutchi memon biryani’, ‘Kebab manchuri’, ‘Honey chicken’, ‘Bheja roti’ and ‘Chicken majestic’ to mention a few. Abrar explains, “The ‘Cutchi memon biryani’ is a mild-spiced dum ‘biryani’, focussing on the potato rather than the meat in the ‘biryani’. It comes with 3 accompaniments — ‘Brinjal gravy’, ‘raita’ and ‘muzaffar’ (rice-based sweet),” adds Abrar.
In addition to its regular crowd, the eatery sees a lot of families and youngsters who come by for a quick takeaway during the weekend. The pricing is reasonable and Abrar explains why, “Our target segment is the middle class, hence our pricing needs to match their budget. We achieve this through judicious purchasing and keeping overheads to the minimum. Our experience in this business has made us believe that quality and profit are not mutually exclusive but go hand-in-hand,” says Abrar.
The dishes are made fresh and nothing is carried over to the next day. And this is also one of the reasons why the dishes don’t get spoilt and can be preserved for at least 3 days. “The chicken and mutton ‘biryani’ and some of the dry items in chicken and mutton are fast-moving dishes. We don’t use too much spice just to enhance the taste. The meat is cooked till it is soft and is mixed well in the ‘masala’ and rice. This gives it a tangy finish,” states Abrar.
Abrar has also mixed in a bit of economics to make sure that there is no wastage both in terms of food and other materials. “The purchasing schedules are prepared in advance to ensure that wastage is at its minimum,” he says. Care is also taken to clean the
surroundings. “The restaurant service and kitchen area are cleaned on a daily basis (at least twice a day). Pest control services are employed on a regular basis to ensure that the place is pest-free,” he adds.
The eatery is located at 1534, 80ft road, Teacher’s Colony, HBR layout. For details, call 9900918842.