Mention Hyderabad and your mind involuntarily conjures up images of the spicy biryani. Say biryani and your mouth starts watering. Here, a plateful of the delicacy sits prettily on my table and the next thing I can think of is stuffing myself with all of it. Even while I think this, I am already munching. Gosh! I missed that perfect instagram picture. Never mind. In the case of biryanis, it’s always a culinary plunge than a ritualistic intake.
On the plate, I observe perfectly cooked rice clinging to chunks of soft mutton, all coloured in tinges of orange, yellow and chilli red. The irresistible aroma of spices, the appetising colours and the inviting presentation add to the whole experience. But all I can realise for now is the explosion of flavours in my mouth. “The holy month of Ramadan is underway and it’s time for biryanis after all,” says Vivek Pathiyan, the General Manager, Hotel Fortune Pandiyan. “We have set up the menu carefully, to suit the palates of children, adults, vegetarians and non-vegetarians.”
The Hyderabadi food festival at the hotel’s Orchid Restaurant is a grand display of well-curated recipes from the Nizam’s kitchen. A star attraction apart from the biryani, is the haleem. A thick porridge of broken wheat, black dal, ginger, garlic and turmeric cooked on a base of minced mutton, a bowlful of haleem can give you foodgasm. It’s also the ideal way to start the binge as it sets off your appetite. For starters, the Gongura murg kebab and Aloo palak ki tikki are just right. Gongura murg kebab consists of thigh pieces of chicken marinated in garam masala, gongura paste and hung yoghurt and later skewered to perfection. The tikki is a crispy disc of mashed potato and spinach spiced up with turmeric and chaat masala. “It’s an experiment we attempted. Since, Hyderabadi cuisine uses Gongura liberally, we tried combining the sour flavour with chicken,” informs V. Kesava Kumar, the Executive Chef.
For non-vegetarians, the other options are Mutton kheema Aloo curry and Macchi ka bhatti. The former is a bland gravy of minced mutton, boiled cube potato, chopped ginger and garlic cooked with typical Hyderabadi masalas. The latter is a fish preparation. “Hyderabadi cusine is primarily non-vegetarian and mostly mutton. But, we also wanted the vegetarians to enjoy as much, so we have a good variety in the veg platter as well,” says Vivek Pathiyan. Mirch Ka Salan (watery gravy with peanuts, sesame seeds, desiccated coconut and wax chilli) and Bagara Baingan (dry preparation of brinjal with peanut, turmeric and garam masala) are the options for vegetarians.
After all the spice dose, it’s time for some sugar. I eye the dessert counter and I am spoilt for choice. I try to be choosy yet I pick almost all of the items from rum balls, black forest pastries and chocolate mousse to the enticing Shahi-tukda, a staple from the royal larder of the Nizams. Soaked in sweetened milk and strewn with badam and pistachio shavings, it’s indeed a royal treat to your sugar tooth.
“Seeing the overwhelming response from people, we have planned to hold the Hyderabadi festival on all weekends till the end of June,” informs Vivek Pathiyan, as the biryani plays on my mind. Yay! I shall come back for another round!
The dinner buffet is priced at Rs. 850 nett for adults and Rs.450 nett for children and is on from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. For reservations, call 8220136666
