Potful Is Bringing Back the South Indian Biryani Ritual

In a culinary world dominated by reheated boxes and foil-sealed containers, Potful offers a throwback to something far richer in taste and tradition, and can literally be the top search result for 'the biryani shop near me'. Drawing inspiration from the age-old Dum Pukht technique once reserved for royal kitchens, Potful delivers biryani in a royal style. It delivers the experience of slow-cooked rice, spices, and meats sealed in an earthen pot, letting every grain soak in flavour until the moment it reaches your doorstep. In doing so, it revives a lost art of Indian cooking, one pot at a time.

How One Man Turned a Clay Pot into a Culinary Movement

In 2017, Lokesh Krishnan was searching for a way to reconnect people with the lost flavours of slow-cooked Indian cuisine. After years of working with food giants like Amul and Metro Cash & Carry, he decided to carve his own path by launching Potful in Bengaluru. Rather than follow the crowd of cloud kitchens using plastic boxes and pre-prepared food, he put his faith and savings into a single, powerful idea: cook biryani fresh in a sealed handi and deliver it just like that, pot and all.

That one decision sparked a movement. Potful created a supply chain that supports over 100 traditional potters from Karnataka, with a network spanning cities like Hyderabad and Chennai through 25 kitchens. Today, it stands as a ₹70 crore business built on old-world wisdom and new-age delivery.

The Secret Behind Potful’s Signature Experience

Unlike most delivery services that rely on pre-made dishes and plastic containers, Potful prepares each biryani only after an order is placed. The rice, meat, and spices are slow-cooked using the Dum Pukht method in traditional clay handis, which are then sealed and sent to your doorstep in the same pot. This ensures the biryani reaches you piping hot, packed with aroma, moisture, and depth, exactly as it was intended.

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But what truly sets Potful apart is its commitment to preserving both flavour and tradition. By using handcrafted earthen pots, the brand supports over a hundred local potters from Karnataka, while keeping its carbon footprint low. The menu spans regional favourites, from the fiery Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani and tender Mutton variants to South Indian classics like Ambur Biryani. Add to that rich side dishes like Murgh Khada Masala and crowd-favourite kebabs, and you get a meal that feels festive, authentic, and made just for you.

Overcoming the Heat in the Kitchen and Beyond

Running a brand like Potful comes with its fair share of challenges. The core idea of preparing biryani from scratch in clay pots after each order is time-consuming, often taking nearly an hour per delivery. Balancing this traditional method with the fast-paced demands of modern customers has required meticulous coordination. Being a cloud kitchen brand also meant fewer physical touchpoints with consumers, making visibility a major hurdle in the early days. To stay competitive on food delivery platforms, Potful had to invest heavily in promotions and aggregator partnerships, eating into their early profits.

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To tackle these obstacles, Potful introduced smart cooking protocols that allowed them to maintain consistency without compromising authenticity. They streamlined the process using weight and timing benchmarks to simplify operations and enable scale. Efforts have also gone into building a stronger digital presence through their own app and backend systems, reducing reliance on third-party platforms. With increasing customer trust and demand, especially in cities like Hyderabad, the brand has started exploring physical storefronts to build stronger customer relationships and grow beyond the limitations of the cloud kitchen model.

Blending the Past with the Pace of the Present

Potful has redefined what food delivery can feel like by fusing age-old cooking traditions with the speed and scale of modern tech. By supporting local potters and introducing process-driven innovation, Potful has shown that authenticity and efficiency don’t have to be at odds. As it expands into new cities and formats, the brand continues to prove that heritage can thrive in today’s on-demand world, one streaming handi at a time.