Chicken Berry Britannia (🍗🐢 Chicken Berry Britannia & the Great Biryani Brouhaha 🥳🌶️)

In a house where even the walls knew the difference between Hyderabadi, Lucknowi, and Calicut-style biryani, Chicken Berry Britannia entered like the glamorous NRI cousin who only visits once in a decade — and leaves a trail of drama, fragrance, and mild heartburn behind.

It all began on a sleepy Sunday when I sprang out of bed with a single thought: “Let’s do something dangerously delicious today.” My poor husband, who thought I was finally getting serious about yoga, found me instead elbow-deep in soaked basmati rice, muttering things like “This berry shall be the crown jewel

I whipped out the Dishoom cookbook like it was a family heirloom and declared, “Today, we make Chicken Berry Britannia — and no, I don’t mean the biscuit.”

As the biryani cooked in my prized earthen tagine pot (yes, I like drama with my dum), a smoky perfume filled the house so intensely that even our neighbor’s cat tried to climb in through the window for a whiff. Meanwhile, I tossed a side salad using my sea turtle salad servers which, if I’m being honest, are more aesthetic than practical. One slipped into the dressing bowl like a beachy belly flop, and the lettuce never recovered.

Right then, the in-laws showed up unannounced — as they do — suspiciously sniffing and eyeing the berry bits in the rice.

“What is this? Biryani with jam?” my MIL whispered to my FIL like I couldn’t hear them.

But then my husband took a bite, paused dramatically, and muttered, “I think... I love this more than cricket.” Everyone gasped. Even the fan stopped spinning for a second.

The meal was a smoky, spicy, fruity success. The in-laws may still think raisins are illegal in biryani, but I’ve converted them one berry at a time.

I’m planning a reel soon, where the tagine pot gets a slow-mo smoky lid lift like it’s in a Bollywood action sequence. I’ll add dramatic music. Possibly a wind machine.

Until then, I raise my salad tongs (one slippery sea turtle and all) and say:
Eid Mubarak, may your biryani always be berry bright and beautifully burnt on the bottom! 🙌✨