A simple idea, born in Narayanguda (2006)
In 2006, at our very first restaurant in Narayanguda, we kept seeing the same thing. The students who lived nearby, the bachelors living away from home and the young professionals starting out all loved biryani, but a proper plate of biryani cost more than most of them could spend on an ordinary day. For them, biryani was an occasional treat.
At Mehfil, our belief has always been simple: a good Hyderabadi biryani belongs to everyone. Nobody should have to choose between their budget and a proper meal.
The Single Biryani: a plate full of biryani, made for one
That belief led to the single biryani. It was around 700 grams of biryani, usually a little more, priced at just ₹50 in 2006 and made for one person. It was sold as a dish of its own, rather than a family order carved into portions.
It was not a smaller portion created to justify a lower price. It was a plate full of biryani, and our thinking was simple: do not reduce the food to reduce the price, but find a way to make that plate affordable. That turned biryani from an occasional treat into something people could enjoy on any ordinary day.
People noticed, and they told their friends. Many biryani restaurants across Hyderabad sell a single biryani today, and we are proud that it started in our first restaurant.
From one plate to the whole table: the Handi
In the same year, the same restaurant did the opposite for groups. Until then, a whole handi of biryani was something a caterer cooked to order for a wedding. We put the biryani handi on the menu instead, so anyone with a gathering to feed could order one sealed pot of biryani for their own mehfil, the word for a gathering that gave us our name.
The single biryani was made for one person, and the handi was made for the table. Both came from the same idea: a generous biryani that people can afford, whatever the occasion. We did not invent the handi, which is far older than we are, but we were the first to sell it this way.
A handi serves 40 or 50 as standard, and beyond those two vessels it is cooked to whatever guest count you give, starting at ten. It follows the exact same dum cooking process as the plates served in our restaurants, so the method never changes with the size.
Our legacy: built on service, sustained by trust
Mehfil has grown from that first restaurant in Narayanguda to 19 restaurants in Hyderabad and Dubai, because we built it on what our customers actually needed. The single biryani still keeps its original promise: around 700 grams, for one person, and wherever it is served in Hyderabad it costs under ₹150. Good food should not have to carry a premium price tag. That was our belief in 2006, and it still is. The itemised list for your nearest branch is on Swiggy and Zomato.
So when you search for who started the single biryani or who introduced the handi, the answer is one restaurant in Narayanguda that opened in 2006, and a group that still believes the plate should stay full.
Experience it yourself
Ready to taste where it started?
- For a single portion: order online on Swiggy or Zomato, or visit your nearest Mehfil branch today.
- For your next big celebration: book a Mehfil Handi, or message us on Instagram or Facebook.
