– Ayshwaria Lakshmi
Hyderabad has its Hyderabad dum biryani, Kerala has its Thalessery biriyani, likewise, Chennai has its authentic Bhai Kadai biryani. But, how about a dish designed especially for the Tamil-speaking Islamic brotherhood? This is what Amira’s promises you the best authentic Tamil-Muslim biryani.
Amira’s, named after its founder Chef Preethi Rajkumari, is a cloud kitchen that serves Tamil-Muslim bucket biryani cooked in the authentic wood fire style with chefs.
“Amira’s came into my mind when I was doing webinar consultations for my existing clients. Instead of telling them to do, I wanted to lead my clients and show them success during this pandemic time,” said Chef Preethi Rajakumari. “I started searching for the best Bhai biryani and found the recipe I wanted to share. Amira’s results from nearly 45 days of test trail.”
As the Founder, Amira’s is an unstoppable force with complimentary homemade Gulab Jamun, 10 pieces of chicken 65, strict food wastage control measures, a unique black bucket, and delivering across Chennai in this pandemic. The kitchen is in Thoraipakkam has made deliveries from Avadi to Poonamallee to North Madras since launch.
To control the food wastage, the cooking and procurement of ingredients are done only on a pre-order basis. “I make sure the ingredients are fresh. I don’t even have a refrigerator or a deep freezer in my kitchen. I store only rice and masalas,” said Preethi.
Amira’s biryani comes in a sealed and tightly packed customized black bucket that would keep the temperature for two hours. It is also packed with a banana leaf for the flavors to stay intact. This customized black bucket has become the attraction of Amira’s. “It has been two weeks since I started it. I have had an enquiry for the bucket and where to procure it,” said Preethi. “I like to keep things unique and this bucket is for Amira’s.”
Launching a cloud kitchen during the pandemic, when everyone is skeptical to eat out, Preeti took it as a challenge. Short-staffed, as most of her staff, have gone to their hometown, she gets down on the floor to work, be it to cook or buy ingredients. “We find a little difficult to procure ingredients after dusk and not working on Sundays. We also follow the standards while cooking and also during delivery.”
As of now Amira’s has the delivery line open till 9 pm the previous night and the order should be done the previous day. It has planned an app to pre-order in works. Preethi is also working out a new recipe to introduce Kerala flavors in the biryani. Apart from this, she is also in talks with delivery partners. “Currently, we schedule our delivery the previous day,” she adds.
