Hyderabadi Biryani Curry at Sitar

my new best freind.. Thanks Roots...

it's going to be strange at the table with 30 odd people ordering the same meal. At least the waiter will be pleased.

We'll have to be difficult with the drinks instead.

If anybody else is interested please PM me or post it here before 9 PM. I will make a final attempt tonight to see if we can squeeze in few more people. I cannot promise but I will let you know.

Please understand that it is not possible to add anymore after tonight.

Also remember that drinks start at 8:00 PM so feel free to come by early.

so tempting!

Or take in to account the 'Jeremy Factor' and just go anyway!

So we gonna be 35-40 people. Thats a big crowd.

I hope the Biryani will be good. I hope yall wont kill me if it isn't. I am hoping that it will be at least halfway decent. Well, if it is really horrible then we all could have a food-fight.

mmm - food fight with curry...
not sure about that, I'm coming straight from work and I've got one of me best tops on

I think there is an ingredient in particular called Haldi thats impossble to remove. Guys prove me wrong.

@Topsy just shield yourself with a couple of popadoms. This has been tried and tested.

Topsy, just take off your top. Hah!

Yeah but who is gonna save her from those wicked flying nans? And those mean little green peas, they could really hurt you know

flipping heck, they don't call *me* showem - more like hide'em
actually, I should have picked that as my sign-in, now I think about it... we would have complemented each other nicely

Haldi/Turmeric is used to make yellow and orange dyes, so I imagine it's quite difficult to remove. Don't wear white.

Topsy, just wanna let you know that the handle "TakeItoff" is still available in case you are contemplating a switcharoo.

I am staring myself here in work on purpose for this meal. It better be worth it !

@roots: Are you planning on organising any other off the menu items in future ?

@false

Man, sorry I don't wanna get your hopes up but I seriously doubt if you are gonna get anything like what you see in that picture.

Like I said, the real thing is something else and I don't expect Sitar to come anywhere near that. If they do, then I will certainly organize more specialized events like this.

I am actaully gonna talk to all the restaurant people I know to see if there any cook from Hyderabad. Only someone from Hyd can make it best.

i was at sitar today afternoon for lunch...

Asked the guy there about the briyani... seems its not going to be the 8-10 hour variety... its the shortened preparation version that we are going to have today...

even if this made properly it will be amazing to have..

So come on, lets have a first Biryani review!!

It was terrible. None of you would like it. No, best not to eat any and leave it all to the rest of us. We will somehow suffer through and eat it. Don't try it, you won't like it. Trust me. We kind of, sort of, liked it; but you wouldn't like it. Don't go. We'll eat it for you.

Incredible. Such a rich intricate mesh of flavors. It was great. I cant remember when I last had lamb, and this was the way to eat it. The sauces balanced the main dish perfectly. (A white jogurt based sauce and a mint chutney). I was so full when I left the resturant (after 3 plates full) but as soon as I was on the train back home I wished I had squeezed in another plate. You can tell the cook felt proud as we gave him his well deserved applause. Well worth the price. Excellent idea whosever idea it was, and I look forward to experiencing and learning about other such ethnic dishes (from any culture) with a fantastic group of dining partners. So.. Who said something about Ethiopian food?

Shut up Kza! They will all want some now! It's meant to be our little secret...

Topsy's naked badminton players will show up again im richtigen Licht. Don't forget the camera Ume.

yah no, didn't like the Biryani thing at all. No no. My husband didn't like the leftovers either.

Great to see you all at Sitar today guys! Good fun. Good food. Good Company...all in all a good evening!

Thanks Roots Bhaiya!

Ravski is the guy with the porno badminton, not me!!!

It was really good to meet you guys (even though some of you think I am innately evil). Woof. Kza, it was especially fab to hear your akzint

And many many thanks to Rootsie for organising!!! Let's do it again, some time very soon. Maybe on a night other than Wednesday, so that we are allowed to start earlier than 8pm
I'm so terribly sorry if that last comment is too controversial.

Great food, great company... thanks everyone!!!

I like the meal and the atmosphere was great. About the badminton, topsey how many Gin and T did you have?. Next time I want to do some bangra moves.

Aa-ite peapul, lets hear some honest reviews about Biryani.

As I warned many times, I didn't expect Sitar to come up with Real Hyderabadi Biryani and they didn't. However, they tried their best and the taste was closer to what I know as Mughlai Biryani. Major difference, in Hyd B, there is a thick sauce that does not leave the meat even when it was cooked with rice. Taste itself wasn't that bad. Overall I thought it was good. The Sauces were great though. More than anything I enjoyed the atmosphere last night. It was nice to be with everyone. Thank you all for coming.

@showem
I still can't tell if you really hated or liked. You are being dodgy. Come on spit it out.

@Gen
I love your "in your face" honesty.

@kza
Glad you loved it

@Topsy
Lets talk about Biryani.

I want honest opinions so that I know if should even bother with such events in future. Thanks yall.

1. Well organised - good job Roots!

2. Good food - I really enjoyed it, good job Sitar!

3. If you do it again, look out, because the numbers are likely to be double.

4. Thanks all of you who said you were going to come but didn't. Great take home portions for the rest of us!

I very much enjoyed it, but it's not something I would eat regularly - I still prefer the vindaloo, but it was great to try something completely different for a change.

Surprisingly enough, I also preferred the lamb over the chicken.

Company was great and food tasted absolutely fab. Only issue I'd point out is that there could have been more lamb in the Biryani.

It was a very nice evening!

Photos can be found : HERE

@BadDoggie


Its a dog eat dog world baddoggie. You should have grabbed the meat first

I can't make it tomorrow cuz I am meeting some of my friends at another restaurant tomorrow evening.

I would've done had I known there were only three pieces of meat per serving bowl.

Meh. I was a veggie for 17 years. I ate three plates of the stuff last week. And to be fair, you did let me grab a little piece of chikkin. I got the lamb when you turned around to talk to a couple other people.

So which restaurant are you meeting at for the real real curry? Enquiring minds (and palettes) want to know.

woof.

(Edit due to kitten on keyboard dammit get offmy compu!!!1koqpajq asdsa89klqwqwter, cat!!!]