Paulius Musteikis
Chicken biryani with yogurt sauce is a known known, but the menu also goes in more adventurous directions.
Fast Biryani has taken up residence in the former east-side La Bamba, looking down on the paved expanse of East Towne. While a biryani section can be found on most Indian menus in Madison, Fast Biryani’s menu is centered on Hyderabadi cuisine, where the rice-based dish is a specialty.
And the biryani dishes here are the most complete, with a portion of meat or vegetables atop a fluffy bed of seasoned basmati rice. A small container of mirchi ka salan, a curried chili pepper dish, is suggested as an add-on, but it’s extremely spicy. The vegetable biryani has a more modest spice level, and the chickpea (daal) version is even less spicy — and what kind of maniac doesn’t love chickpeas?
Chicken tikka masala is rich, both buttery and sweet. Vindaloo and makhni (think butter chicken) are on the menu here, too. All curries come in modest portion sizes, but these don’t include rice. Add an ample rice side with a serving of naan to craft a dinner combo that still costs less than at most Indian restaurants in town.
Only two animal proteins are featured prominently: chicken and mutton. Hyderabad is landlocked, after all, so fish and shrimp would feel a bit of a stretch. Mutton — which can refer to goat meat in Indian cuisine but at Fast Biryani is the more typical adult lamb — shows up on the bone in dishes like mutton qorma. While the meat itself was fragrantly seasoned, there wasn’t much other than the aromatics to recommend it.
The gravy here is not the smooth, velvety Indian gravy you might be used to. Its consistency is kind of gritty and separated. All indications are that this is true to Hyderabadi style, though, so roll with it. Dip some naan in there. The chicken pasindey’s spicy, nutty gravy is particularly good for this purpose. It’s not a familiar dish name, but taking the chance with this dish led to success.
This points to a problem with Fast Biryani: a lack of detail in the menu descriptions. If you’re not familiar with jalebi already, you might think from its appearance that it’s a gummi candy dessert and not the hybrid between funnel cake and moisture-logged Trix that it is. I found it too oily and not flavorful enough. The aforementioned mirchi ka salan looks an awful lot like tahini; a heat-averse diner would be more than a little shocked. Mango lassi is a known known, and Fast Biryani’s is tasty, but I had to google the malai lassi after it came out as pink as strawberry milk. (Saveur’s recipe points to rose syrup.) There can be a lot of gambling with the menu. Some doesn’t pay off, but some really does.
Haleem is another atypical dish, basically a stew of meat, cracked wheat, lentils, ginger, more of those rocket-hot chilis, and other delicious bits and pieces. Fast Biryani offers it with chicken or mutton. In the chicken version, at least, the meat is shredded. It could be eaten over rice, but I enjoyed mine straight from the dish, all spicy ginger heat and fried onion sweetness. Excellent.
Fast Biryani has its place in the Madison Indian scene locked up as a great fast-food option. Both the veggie and meat (kheema) samosas are savory little two-bite affairs, though they’d be even better served hot. And the gooey, praliney bread pudding called double ka meetha will put any sweet tooth into its happy place.
The stroke of brilliance is flatbread wraps: A scoop of curry is rolled up in naan (or paratha, for an upcharge) with lettuce and cheese. The Chicken 65 (spicy and fiery-red chunks of chicken ) and beef dumke kabab (ground spiced beef not unlike kofta) are perfect for satisfying an immediate and mobile Indian craving. Plus, the owners at Fast Biryani seem always to be working and are indeed fast in filling orders; the restaurant is open until at least 10 every night.
Paneer tikka masala wrapped up in naan just like you know you want to eat it anyway? It’s the correct answer to a question you didn’t even know you were asking.
Fast Biryani, 4738 E. Washington Ave.,608-422-5099, fastbiryani.com
11:30 am-10 pm Mon.-Thurs., 11:30 am-11 pm Fri., noon-11 pm Sat., noon-10 pm Sun.
$1-$13
