Haji Biriyani | Mutton biriyani | Dhaka | Bangladesh

0:02 Loaction
0:06 People Waiting
0:17 Biriyani Arrival
0:37 Biriyani Serving
1:19 Biriyani Display
1:59 Biriyani Eating



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There are a few things that have been carrying great inheritance for decades in the ancient part of Dhaka city. One of them is a name, a brand that conquered time. For more than 70 years, Haji Biriyani has been dominating the country's catering scenario with a high name.

Started in 1939 by Haji Mohammed Hossain and now run by his grandson Haji Mohammed Shahed, this 73 years old restaurant makes biriyani in a very special way. Unlike others, they do not use butter in the biriyani. Instead they use mustard oil. This shop is so famous that if you go to Old Dhaka and tell any rickshaw-puller about the shop, they will bring you right in front of it. Haji Biriyani needs no signboard or advertisement for its customers to find their way to its main outlet for all these years.

There is always heavy demand in the restaurant from 6.30 am in the morning till 9 pm at night, but they only make a limited quantity of biriyani every day. It always remains over-crowded and there is hardly any place to sit inside the restaurant. There is no appetiser, no desert served with the dish, and this is the only dish they serve, but still this is the most famous place in Old Dhaka for food. Nowadays they have opened two branches of the restaurant at Motijheel and Baridhara area, where Biriyani is served cooked and taken from here. But still you have to come in the Old Dhaka if you want to feel and taste the original.

The main shop is located at Kazi Alauddin Road of Najira Bazar, exactly at the same place where it was born. After Haji Mohammad Hossain expired in 1992, his sonHaji Golam Hossain took over and continued the business without compromising with the
style and the tradition. Perhaps he was too old fashioned to handle any changes. Then a new jolt suddenly occurred after the venture came in the hands of the master's grandson Haji Shahed Hossain, the beholder of the heritage at present. "My intention is to reach our food to as many people as possible ensuring convenience, so
we thought of opening new branches. Dhaka City has been expanded towards all direction from the point of its origin," said Haji Shahed, "So our first chain was opened in Motijheel in 2009 and then in Baridhara in 2010. But the food is cooked in same old kitchen at the back of the main outlet and supplied to the branches. May all have a 'plate' of Haji Biriyani and help me continue the tradition." It is taken for granted that Haji Biriyani is not only a pride element of the Haji Family but for us all Dhakites as well.

Haji Shahed mentioned Chef Kalam Miah and his contribution for upholding the tradition. Kalam Miah has seen three generations in a row and he is still around to provide hands on supervision to the everyday operation of making Haji Biriyani. There is a large selection of foods in Dhaka that are tasty, delicious and made with local flavour. But not many of them are famous worldwide. Haji Biryani of Old Dhaka is one of those few ones that have earned the love of food lovers across the world. According to Google Insight (Google's Keyword tracking service), Biryani is the most searched recipe in regards of Bangladeshi foods. If anyone visits Dhaka, one should be prepared to have at least one hearty meal of Haji Biryani with its sweet spicy aroma.
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ABOUT Bangladeshi Food

Bangladesh shares a common Bengali culture, language and history with its neighbors in the nearby Indian state of West Bengal. This shared culture also carries over to its food – many dishes are shared across borders and are commonly referred to as Bengali cuisine.

Bangladeshi cuisine is decidedly South Asian in nature. However, it’s unique in its abundant use of fish and its employment of a variety of often fiery pastes made from ground roots, spices and chilies. So fiery they are, we’re told, that even some visiting Indians can’t handle the heat.