India and Pakistan cricket fans are divided by a rivalry and united over their love of eating biryani in the stands
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Earlier this week, the U.S. shocked the cricket world by beating powerhouse Pakistan in the T20 Cricket World Cup. As Pakistan looks to stay alive in the tournament, it has a pivotal match tomorrow in New York against its bitter rival India. As deep as the rivalry runs, there is one thing their fans do agree on, though - that biryani, the South Asian rice dish, is the best thing to eat at a cricket match. Kunwar Khuldune Shahid has the story.
KUNWAR KHULDUNE SHAHID, BYLINE: Recently, I went to East Meadow, where India and Pakistan will play on June 9. The biryani shops in the area were buzzing with anticipation.
NAVEED HAROON: In Nassau County, there is a big population of Indian people, big population of Pakistani people.
SHAHID: Naveed Haroon is the owner of the Spice & Curry. He is Pakistani, but his customer base comes from all over the subcontinent. One of the restaurant's oldest customers, Saad (ph), is excited about watching cricket and eating biryani right next to the Nassau County Cricket Stadium.
SAAD: It would be a huge in-demand item, and they're probably going to need to step up their game for the supply part. But yeah, biryani and cricket, they go hand in hand, man.
SHAHID: Biryani became associated with cricket partly because of the sport's format. The oldest version lasts five days. Fans eat multiple meals from early morning till evening each day. The breaks in the play are even named after meal times. The World Cup format is much shorter, about as long as a baseball game. But in any format of cricket, there's a long pause before each play. It's the perfect amount of time to scoop meat, rice, yogurt and other condiments onto a spoon. Most South Asian immigrants, like Saad, cherish the fact that in the U.S., they get to enjoy biryani from both India and Pakistan, which is not possible in the countries of their origin.
SAAD: All the Desis love biryani, whether it's from Bombay or like Sindhi biryani or whichever one you prefer.
SHAHID: However, like cricket, the Indo-Pak rivalry plays out over biryani as well. Vegetarian biryani is more popular in India along with chicken and mutton, but not beef, which most Hindus avoid. In Pakistan, meat biryani is more common, but never pork, which is forbidden in Islam. Despite hardliners defining vegetarianism and meat eating through the Hindu-Muslim dichotomy, historian Anil Maheshwari stresses that these labels are not just bigoted but also inaccurate.
ANIL MAHESHWARI: The best mutton is prepared by the Hindu Kayasthe. They adopted the dress of the Muslims. They adopted the language of the Muslim. They love their mutton biryani.
SHAHID: And he notes that in the U.S., people from the Indian subcontinent ignore their food differences and see their commonalities.
MAHESHWARI: Outside the Indian subcontinent, they are Asian.
SHAHID: In East Meadow, I experienced this firsthand when I got to go inside Spice & Curry's kitchen to cook biryani for a dining room full of Pakistani and Indian customers. First up, we put oil into a daig, a large pot. Then we add a bag of dried onions. Then in goes fresh tomato puree and many, many spices, including red chili powder, turmeric powder and zeera coriander. Once the sauce is ready, we add basmati rice. Meat or vegetables are separately added to create meat and vegetarian biryanis. I take a bite of the chicken biryani.
Outstanding. Tastes absolutely amazing.
It takes me right back to cricket games in the subcontinent. To complete the Indo-Pak biryani experience, I walk across to the Indian-owned the Royale Restaurant and Bar. The Royale has both devout Hindus and Muslims as regulars, even though it serves alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam, and meat options, which religiously vegetarian Hindus would avoid. First things first - I had to eat authentic Indian biryani from Hyderabad, which is so hard to find in Pakistan.
Wow. Oh, it's packed with flavor. Absolutely delicious.
SHAHID: Owner Amrinder Singh says what is truly subcontinental is embracing diversity, which he expects to see at the Cricket World Cup as well.
MAHESHWARI: The food is going to unite the love. No matter what kind of rivalry they have on the field, when they'll be back, they'll enjoy the food.
SHAHID: Pakistan and India will meet Sunday in the Cricket World Cup. And no matter the score, the stands selling biryani are sure to come out on top. For NPR News, I'm Kunwar Khuldun Shahid.
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