Relish the taste of India on the streets of Sri Lanka

text Dinuli Francisco

It’s the story of the founders of Andhra Grills themselves many Sri Lankans can draw inspiration from; South Indians who, as children, grew up in Hyderbad and who, as adults, fell in love with Sri Lanka and decided to bring authentic Hyderabadi Street Food to the busy streets of Colombo.

Padigala Sumanth’s story in Sri Lanka begins with the decision to pursue a degree in Sri Lanka. “The idea of opening up an Indian street food stall had always been a dream of mine, and with the grace of God, quite unexpectedly, I was able to materialise it in Sri Lanka, which I’ve come to love so much.

“Usually, when I prepare Indian dishes, I share them with my Sri Lankan neighbour, and she absolutely loves the flavours and the taste. She has been my biggest supporter, always raving about our dishes and kept telling me how unique our dishes were. She suggested that I open an Indian stall in the streets of Sri Lanka so that Sri Lankans could experience and relish their taste buds with our specialised dishes. This idea inspired me, of course, and we decided to open a stall in Sri Lanka”.

When ordering “Indian” food in Sri Lankan restaurants, Biryani with gravy and raita is ubiquitous. Even though there are more than 30 types of Biriyani in South Asia, we rarely experience authentic and famous Biriyani varieties like Hyderabad, Delhi, Sindhi, Kalyani, and Dindigul Biriyanis.

Hyderabadi Biriyani is the crown dish of Hyderabad and arguably the most famous biriyani in the world. Some say one cannot claim to have had biriyani until they have tasted the authentic street Hyderabadi Biriyani of India.

Andhra Grills’s signature dish is their Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani and poori with chicken curry. It is prepared with a fragrant mix of meat, vegetables, rice, and spices and served with raita and gravy. 

Andhra Grills also serves some of the most famous Indian snacks, such as Poori, Idly, Dosa, Dahi Vada, and Mirchi Bajji. And if you find craving something sweet after ravaging their famous Chillie chicken, you can gobble some gulab jamun with ice cream or Kheer or Laddu. 

Gollamari Akhil, chef at Andhra Grills spoke of the uniqueness of their biriyani compared to various biriyani found in Sri Lanka. “Most of the spices and herbs are brought down from India because we want our customers to relish the authentic Indian flavours of the Hyderabadi biriyani. We use only the best natural ingredients, and our food is prepared with a variety of spices and herbs, making our dishes flavourful and special compared to most other Sri Lankan Indian restaurants. Everything is prepared here in real-time to ensure all dishes are fresh.

Padigala Sumanth is ever-optimistic and sees so much potential in Sri Lanka at a time residents are scrambling to move overseas. He says, smiling broadly, “We want to open up many more outlets and let our customers experience authentic Indian food at fair prices all over Sri Lanka”.