A delectable dish with Persian roots, Biryani is a favourite, both in the Indian subcontinent and across the globe. It has become an inextricable part of Bohra cuisine and a signature dish of Bohra kitchens. From birthday celebrations to weddings and even religious congregations, Biryani is often the dish of choice. It is so popular that in some households it is a Sunday afternoon ritual to cook it for friends and family.
Jeff Biryani is an off-shoot of that love for Biryani within the Dawoodi Bohra community. Its patriarch, Mr Zoyeb, affectionately known as ‘Jeff Sahab’ is literally the face of the establishment. His cheerful face on its logo, some would say, bears an uncanny resemblance to KFC’s Colonel Sanders.
The roots of this establishment lie in a catering business in Bandra, suburban Mumbai, run by the family of Jeff's spouse since the 1950s. But Jeff, ever the optimist and opportunist, shifted to Kerala in 2010 looking for greener pastures. His youngest son, Husain, concedes that the initial experiences in the beginning were nothing short of challenging.
Biryani was a popular dish among Keralites. However, its cooking style was unconventional to what they were accustomed to. ‘``We noticed that cooks merely fried the chicken and used short grain rice to dish out a plate of Biryani. I used to call that Pulao’, says Husain. This realisation inspired the family to introduce the ‘Bombay’ flavour with a dash of Yemeni taste.
Their cooking style includes using Basmati rice and home-made masalas as well as a large cauldron covered by a lid. The contents are slowly cooked, allowing the flavours to diffuse into the rice and chicken, resulting in what is known as ‘Dum Biryani.’
Jeff purchased a second hand van and started out in Kochi at a spot similar to the popular Bandra bandstand. But the recipe alone did not guarantee success.
‘At that time, both me and my brother were calculating on hunches. We began by setting up a stall on a handcart, wooing passersby to taste our Biryani. During the monsoons, we endured days of sogginess, both personally and financially. We came to a point where we considered changing our line of business, but my father was undeterred,’ shares Hatim, the eldest of Jeff’s two sons. Jeff instead offered practical advice: ‘If you want to do well in this field, you have to gain specialised knowledge.’
Husain, the younger son, took heed and travelled to Houston to do a Hotel Management course. For three years, he steeped himself in the technical and practical knowledge of the hospitality industry. ‘My biggest takeaway was the emphasis restaurateurs put on marketing,’ says Husain. ‘The concept that if people around you don’t know what you have to offer, you won’t grow, compelled me to think more creatively,’ he went on to say. The brothers began to promote their establishment by distributing pamphlets in residential societies and reaching out to enthusiastic foodies & gastronomy bloggers.
With time, they realised that they would need to carve out a distinct niche - only then could they promote something that would really reel in clients. That striking feature is the ‘open kitchen’ concept: the cauldron (degchi) is on full display. Husain explains it as an ‘interpersonal’ concept, meant to let the customers know what they are being served. ‘People find it fascinating that I am standing behind the vessel and serving directly from the Degchi,’ says Husain, continuing, ‘this way, you take transparency to a different level. People trust what they see and if our service gains their trust, we hope our dishes add the final garnish.’ Promoting this ‘flavour’ has seen the business catch the imagination of a wide customer base across Kerala. From a single outlet to a quartet, the establishment strives to keep growing in terms of taste, quality and hospitality.
Their business philosophy is straightforward: serve good food and never compromise on quality. This is why they decided not to tie-up with any food-delivery platforms. Hatim explains saying, ‘It’s not that other outlets are compromising on anything, we feel we owe the transparency to our customers. We want our customers to keep coming back, that's why we focus on providing premium in-house service.’
