Near Similipal National Park in Odisha—in the verdant green Mayurbhanj district—it’s more likely you’ll spot a tiger than come across unusually flavoured chips. Food fusion near a forest? Who’d have thunk! But that’s Odisha for you. Expect the unexpected! At a roadside gupchup aka pani puri stall, I spotted a packet of dum biryani-flavoured chips. If that didn’t shock you enough, wait till you know what it cost. Just ₹5! Did it really taste like biryani? Here’s my verdict!
Dum Biryani Chips, Anyone?
Hanging by the makeshift gupchup stall, on a lonesome road in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, was a string of bright orange chip packets. At first glance, they looked like they belonged to a popular brand, but at closer inspection, the core landed closer to home. Odisha’s best-kept secret wasn’t just the indigenous tribal rice beer, Handia; it was wacky biryani-flavoured chips.
Needless to say, the dum biryani chips priced at an unbelievable ₹5 caught my eye. It was too wacky to ignore. Who sells biryani-flavoured chips this cheap near a forest? For adventurous foodies, it’s a gold mine, waiting to be unravelled. The R.K. Dum Biryani chips had to be bought, tried and then reviewed. After all, what are we here for but food, food and food, right?
On excitedly tearing open the Dum Biryani Chips, what followed wasn’t the regular potato wafers. Thin yellow-coloured corn puffs coated in spicy-sour masala filled the packet to the brim.
Did it remind me of Dum Biryani? Perhaps not! Was it tasty? Hell yeah! It was incredibly addictive. Light, crispy, masaledaar that came with intrigue. While the packet promised biryani with a visually striking image, the chips had enough masala to make the road trip a snackable one.
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Odisha’s Road Trip Snack Has Hidden Surprises
The story doesn’t end here. Odisha’s generosity stretches far beyond. The ₹5 biryani-flavoured chips packet had not one but five surprises! Yes, five! What were they? Five small green-coloured Kaccha Aam (raw mango) chocolates hidden away amid the yellow corn wafers. My fingers reached out for a chip and landed on a candy. Then another, and another followed, till I was amazed at how a ₹5 chips packet actually had more than enough chips than just air. And taking over the surprise were Kachha Aam candies!
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Let’s just say, I still crave those Dum Biryani chips, the Kachha Aam candies that came with it, and the sweetest deal of all— the ₹5 price!
Cover Image Courtesy: Sanjana Shenoy
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