In August 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghatkopar entrepreneur couple Charmi and Bhavin Shah launched a delivery service called The Biryani Kahani. They wished to rewrite the narrative around one of the most ordered rice dishes in India, the ‘veg’ biryani. Among other aspects that they decided to make signatures of the brand, was the clay pot that they would cook and deliver the biryani in. “Clay pots are a great way to go back to the traditional Indian method of slow cooking to enhance the flavours of the biryani. Since clay absorbs excess water while cooking, it results in fluffy rice grains with a deep, earthy flavour. The fact that the handis are microwave-friendly means that nutrients remain intact during re-heating, and the pots can be reused for cooking or upcycling. This made our decision easier,” Charmi tells mid-day.