Le-Berian is tucked in one of those unexplored bylanes of Andheri West while being just a stone throw away from the Lokhandwala roundabout. Serving a highly Bohri influenced mughlai cuisine and self proclaimed masters of soulful biryanis, Le-Berian has made a stronghold and niche for itself in under a year. Mind you, it's a more take away oriented eatery with only a handful of tables on the open terrace. The bill of fare is compact with each category averaging a maximum of 5-6 dishes.
We had a tall lunch order for takeaway this afternoon. It's lack of seating space means resorting to their reliable Chicken Bhuna Roll while they processed my ticket. Good amount of flavorful chicken wrapped in whole wheat reshmi paratha is a must have if you don't have the time to stop for a full blown meal. Meanwhile the takeaway list was made up of Bhuna Chicken (yet again !) curry, Chicken Lasooni Palak, Bohri Lamb Biryani, Butter Chicken Biryani, Afghani Tikka Biryani and a stack of Reshmi Parathas.
Butter Chicken Biryani
Keeping it short, I'll go through each of those dishes.
- Bhuna Chicken Curry - This brown gravy is dimly spiced, thick and slightly on the tangy side. The chicken fits well in the dish even though it's not fully cooked in the curry itself. Best enjoyed by breaking the paratha, dipping in the curry and shredding the chicken with two fingers.
- Chicken Lasooni Palak - This was the star of the meal here. The chicken only played cameo to the green creamy spinach gravy with crushed garlic that hits you at every bite. What makes it likable is that the chicken chunks are sized to much smaller cubes such that they don't kill or overpower the dish. Much recommended
- Bohri Styled Lamb Biryani - Although a Bohri Biryani is something that does not belong to my palette, this one was a great effort. One deep aroma and it sent me back to the local masala shop at Bandra Bazaar that bottles these aromatic spice mixes. The lamb was soft pink and perfectly cooked - it splits into two with it's fibers just by a gentle pressure of the thumb and fingers. Overall a very light dish that does not make use of alubhukaray & tomato unlike the mainstream Biryani.
- Butter Chicken Biryani - I always failed to understand it's purpose. A more sweet oriented Biryani that is better enjoyed when kept apart - Butter Chicken & Biryani.
- Afghani Tikka Biryani - Yet another biryani from the today's meal. This has a very distinct peppery flavour that works more on the lines of typical Afghani Tikka Masala with a white creamy cashew base. The rice and tikka masala do come together but not much like they were cooked together to give a gradual color & taste shift from bottom to top.
In all, Le-Berian has managed to retain it's customers after their first interaction for sure. The proof is that the phone doesn't stop ringing at their counter and the kitchen seems busy like it's Bakri Eid.
Location : 311, Snehanjali CHS, Near Samartha Aishwarya, Adarsh Nagar, Andheri West