KARACHI: Every Friday, a long queue forms at the entrance of a dilapidated cinema building in the heart of the Pakistani port city of Karachi and snakes its way down the street.

The customers are not lining up at the gates of the iconic Bambino Cinema to buy movie tickets but to get their hands on a popular rice dish called Jumma (Friday) Biryani in what has become a weekly yatra for many Karachi residents. 

The iconic movie theater, which rose with the ascent of the Pakistan film industry in the 1960s and for decades drew large crowds hungry for the magic of the silver screen, is now a popular Friday destination for biryani-crazed Karachi.

Every Karachi neighborhood has its own biryani type, and the recipe has endless variations that both unite and divide Pakistani palates.

“Biryani is readily available everywhere in Karachi and is served daily but the idea of offering biryani on a specific day [Frida] with a unique taste is what arouses the curiosity of people,” Mustafa Abdul Sattar, the owner of Jumma Biryani stall, told Arab News.

“Those who are curious about it gather here in large numbers on Friday to wait for biryani.”

What else is special about Jumma Biryani, other than that it is served only on Fridays? 

The rice is prepared with boneless beef, Sattar said, and served with love.

“When you treat the customer with respect, he visits you again,” Sattar said. And if the customer wanted a top up, it was available without extra charge.

“When someone orders a single biryani, it is enough for two people,” Sattar added, as trayfuls of biryani were handed over to excited customers around him.

“Biryani remains hot when served in a tray, ensuring customer satisfaction.”

Sattar’s kitchen, set up 16 years ago, is located in Karachi’s Ranchore Line neighborhood, a few kilometers from Bambino Cinema. As it was not possible for cars to enter the narrow streets of the locality, Sattar nine years ago began to set up a stall each Friday at the entrance of the rundown cinema building, where the biryani is brought on auto-rickshaws. 

Before the kitchen was launched, the vendor’s mother used to prepare the biryani at home while Sattar sold it on the streets in small packets.

“It used to get cold when we brought [biryani] here earlier,” he said. “So, we started bringing it in a cauldron and serving it hot to shopkeepers. Since then, God has granted success to our business under the name of Jumma Biryani.”

Sattar said up to 2,500 people showed up to buy his biryani every Friday, which sold out in less than two hours.

“I had come to the [nearby] courts to do some work when a friend recommended Jumma Biryani,” customer Naseerullah Khan said. “So, I tried it, and it was really good. The taste was excellent, and I found it to be very impressive.”

Syed Siddiqui Hussain, another customer whose office was located several kilometers away from Sattar’s stall, also praised Jumma Biryani for its “exceptional taste and quality.”

“Everybody was talking about it at our office ...so, we decided to come here,” Hussain said as he scooped a spoonful of rice from a tray. “It’s very spicy, and quality-wise it’s also very good.”