A Biryani Specialist

In April New York Magazine kvelled about Sangam, a new West Village Indian hole-in-the-wall that offered only two main courses: chicken biryani and vegetable biryani. The article rightly claimed that a good biryani, the classic Indian all-in-one rice dish, is hard to find in New York (indeed, in many places it's little more than fried rice with some Indian spices), and implied that a biryani mecca had finally arrived. Another positive review came from the Daily News. Naturally, I was intrigued.

Sangam's owner, Ishrat Ansari, has run Caffe Vivaldi on Jones Street for many years. Caffe Vivaldi features live music of various sorts, with an emphasis on singer/songwriters (a moribund Greenwich Village tradition). One night several years ago, Ansari told us, they featured Indian classical music, and Ansari's wife prepared her family's biryani recipe as a special for the event. The dish was a big hit, and by popular demand it was added to the cafe's regular, otherwise non-Indian menu. Ultimately the couple had the idea to open a biryani specialty restaurant, for eat-in, take-out and delivery.

When I traveled in India I had the fortune of eating a Hyderabadi biryani in Hyderabad. Biryani is originally a Muslim dish, and it is especially popular and famous in traditionally Muslim areas of India, as well as, of course, Pakistan. Hyderabad is one of the rare cities of South India that has a Muslim history and character, and the spicy Hyderabadi biryani is one of the most famous versions of the dish. Having tried it once in its natural habit, it is the standard by which I judge all other biryanis.

The meat of choice for biryanis in many parts of India is mutton, so I was surprised that Sangam didn't feature lamb biryani on its regular menu. Well, they now have it as a special, and I suspect it'll become a staple. We tried both the lamb ($9) and the vegetarian ($6) biryanis. Though quite good, I must say they just didn't live up to the hype. The lamb biryani was rather stingy with the meat. And while there was a noticeable freshness and complexity to the spicing, it really needed to be more hot-spicy. The spiciness of a biryani may vary from region to region, but I suspect they're toning down the recipe at Sangam for local palates. Still, it's better than the bland, one-dimensional excuses for biryani served at most Indian restaurants in town (other than a few Pakistani cabbie joints, where the spice packs a sufficient wallop). I'm hoping that an entreaty to make it Indian spicy will have some effect when I visit Sangam again. All the biryanis are served with raita (yogurt with cucumber), which one mixes with the rice. The raita is supposed to mellow the heat, but the heat just wasn't there.

Another special, grilled chicken ($9), was a major disappointment. It was a very dry version of chicken tikka, served with very dry, tasteless, almost cardboard naan, indeed the worst naan I've had in quite some time. I wonder whether they have a proper tandoor. The vegetable samosas ($2 each) were good if unexceptional. There are a few other snack items on the menu, but the biryani's the thing. Just be sure to tell them to make it spicy, and let me know how you make out.

Sangam
190 Bleecker St. (Near MacDougal)
212-228-4648