If you’re a true-blue Calcuttan, you have a favourite biryani place. In a recent chat with t2, Sabyasachi Mukherjee said: “If you really want to find me in Calcutta, at 11.15 at night after I come back from my factory, I’ll be in Rahmania (Park Circus) wearing a pair of dirty shorts and a T-shirt and having biryani with my legs up on a chair. Mutton Biryani, Mutton Chaanp and Thums Up.”
On cue, t2 revisited the designer’s dinner den at the Mullickbazar-Park Street junction and ate what Sabya eats, while the owner K.P. Md. Sharif slow-cooked for us the forgotten story of the Rahmania biryani.
This is the oldest outlet of Rahmania, established by Sharif’s father K.P. Md. Farooq, on December 23, 1984. “As a boy, I wasn’t allowed inside because my father had other aspirations for me. As fate would have it, my father took ill in 1992 and I, then a student of BCom in Bhawanipur (Education Society College), got involved in our biryani business,” said Sharif, the oldest of four siblings. Today, Rahmania boasts 12 outlets between Calcutta, Barasat and Durgapur.
Calcutta is home for this Malayali family who moved to Bengal in 1976. Farooq was already based in Calcutta then, and his first culinary venture was a small place called Milan at 190 AJC Bose Road. It was the precursor to Rahmania and shut shop only last year.
For a decade after it opened, Rahmania was dedicated solely to Mughlai food. Mutton Biryani, Chicken Biryani, Mutton Chaanp, Chicken Chaanp.... There wasn’t much more to the menu other than a Rezala here and a Firni there. The recipes were Md. Farooq’s own and not a smattering of spice has been altered. “Now there are north Indian dishes as well. Some may like their biryani with Kadai Chicken!” says Sharif.
Rahmania’s best-loved non-Mughlai dish is the Chicken Kasturi Kebab. Tandoori kebabs were introduced in 1994 to keep up with the demand for mixed fare. Come Ramazan, the haleem here is in great demand, and now that winter is upon us, Sharif is toying with the idea of putting it on the regular menu, along with Mutton Paya, a heavy broth, and Bheja Fry, fried mutton brain.
Rahmania also offers a heavyweight breakfast between 5am and 10am for all those looking to load up for the day. Think Mutton Stew, Mutton Liver and Mutton Dal Gosht. The most frequent breakfasters here are Afghani and Chinese! Sharif notices amusing food trends among different communities. The Chinese, for instance, love mutton. “I can’t have more than half a bowl of haleem but a Chinese man can have two!” Afghanis like to order biryani with tandoori roti and chaanp. They then proceed to wrap the roti around the rice and dip that into the chaanp. And yes, Bengalis have been known to ask for chilli chicken with their biryani!
Md. Farooq’s own experiments in the kitchen led to the discovery of Mutton Special Kasha, another hot favourite. In fact, the Egg Chicken Biryani is entirely a hybrid variety designed for the Bengali palate.
Coming back to the designer who dines — apart from a set order, Sabyasachi has another quirk. “No matter how hot it is, he’ll never sit in the AC section. He said he likes to feel the heat when having hot food,” laughs Sharif.
Text: Ramona Sen
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
