Bangalore has never had a shortage of biryani options. Donne biryani, Dum biryani, Hyderabadi, Ambur — the city has been eating biryani seriously for decades. But the one style that stops people mid-conversation — the one they take photos of before even tasting it — is bamboo biryani.

Bamboo biryani is not just a presentation trick. The cooking changes the flavors. And Bangalore — quietly, over the past decade — has become one of the few cities in India where you can actually compare seven different restaurants doing this dish seriously. So that is exactly what we did.