President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has shared his well-wishes for the Tamil New Year, Puthandu, falling on Tuesday (April 14), and to Sikhs, Malayalees, Bengalis and other Indian communities in Singapore who are also celebrating festivities in the next couple of days.He also took the opportunity to share his personal preference when it comes to briyani, according to a Facebook post on the same day.He then went on to share his love for the traditional and «quintessential» Indian dish, emphasising how it has transcended race, religion and culture.President Tharman has gone off beef, but there is a choice of chicken, mutton, lamb or seafood briyani to enjoy — which he says must be slow-cooked to infuse the rice with the flavour of meats and spices.But his current preference is vegetable briyani, with jackfruit replacing meat.«It's in fact a fast growing, healthy and environmentally friendly choice in India, where briyani is the most popular food order,» he said.Describing the dish as one that «crossed geographies and cultures», the president briefly addressed briyani's history. Read more