Foreigners desperately scour the streets of the old city in search of this gastronomical delight.
Tourists from other parts of the country swear by its richness.
A first-time visitor to Hyderabad has to taste it and if possible take a ‘parcel' back home.
As for the Hyderabadis, we simply can't do without it.
So what makes the Hyderabadi biryani so unique? Why commentators identify it with the way of life in Hyderabad? Why does everybody call Hyderabadi biryani the best South Indian dish ever and some even claim that it is better than the Lucknowi biryani?
Food connoisseur, gourmand and expert in Hyderabad cuisine, Nawab Mehboob Alam Khan, says that nowhere in the country biryani is prepared the way it is done in Hyderabad.
Variations
“There are several variants of biryanis everywhere. The style of cooking, however, remains the same everywhere. But, only in Hyderabad, biryani is cooked in a unique style,” he says.
The former Chairman of A.P. Minorities Commission says that the unique cooking style of Hyderabadi biryani has made it renowned worldwide.
“Unlike elsewhere, we in Hyderabad do not cook meat and rice separately. We cook raw rice and raw meat together with exotic spices and that's our speciality,” he explains.
Meticulous planning
The authentic Hyderabadi biryani is meticulously prepared in the ‘Kutchi' (raw) biryani style, in which raw rice and raw meat are cooked together in a ‘handi' (earthen pot) with spices and a little bit of water.
“It takes meticulous planning and a lot of time to prepare Hyderabadi biryani. The richness of Hyderabadi biryani is due to its unique cooking style,” Mr. Mehboob Alam Khan says.
It's just not the rich taste for which the Hyderabadi biryani is famous for.
The delicacy is also often compared to the way of life in Hyderabad.
Mixed with other styles
“Just like the Hyderabadi society, which is a confluence of different cultures, Hyderabadi biryani has become famous because of its ability to imbibe many food ingredients. In fact, the practice of using dry fruits is an Iranian trait,” says Convenor of INTACH, Hyderabad, Anuradha Reddy.
Persian style
The history of biryani is quite impressive.
Historians believe that the unique cooking style of Hyderabadi biryani can be traced back to Persia.
‘Dum'
It is believed that this style of cooking, known as ‘dum' came from Persia during the regime of Mughals in the country.
The Nizams were great patrons of rich food. That was the reason during their regime, the biryani and its many variations spread to all over the Deccan region and Andhra Pradesh.
Keywords: Hyderabadi biryani, Persian style
Hilary,
It depends on the mutton and method of cooking. Rice is cooked 60-70% of the way then strained of water. Mutton from tender goat which is typically marinated in spices and yoghurt and at times with meat tenderiser(usually paste of raw papaya) for about 45-60 minutes this meat is put in between a two or more layers of rice and some other garnishes. The vessel lid is then sealed with dough to build up mild pressure and coals are added to top of the lid to form an oven effect. Though people say it takes 20 minutes time to slow cook after the vessel is sealed it takes a bit longer. Also the large vessel it self retains lot of heat even after opening. Often serving it starts after 30-60 minutes so the meat continues to cook in mean time even though the fire is taken out.
We make Biriyani exactly the way Mr. Akbar stated. It is really great. Sunil
Yes, vegetarian variant of Hyderabad biriyani is available in Bawarchi, Paradise and other famous hotels. It is used to funnily described that you throw out the meat pieces and deliver it as veg biriyani. In reality veg biriyani is cooked in seperate vessels in the hotels.
I love Hyderabadi biryani. But nothing beats Kattchi Biryani from Fakruddin Bangladesh. It is the best i ever had.
Ohhh boy heard a lot of this dish ,wish to get taste as soon as possible
I expected a meaty(!) article on the preparation and history of
Hyderabadi Biryani, instead what has been rehashed here is common
knowledge. Please don't go the TOI away, please research before you
write !
the above two methods are two of the different methids of preparing Biryani, but not hyderabaadi briyani.
mots of the comments above are made out of ignorance.
Thalapakattu - has nothing to do with the turban which u pur around the vessel when in dum. it is a practise in dindigul/madura area that when a apprentice cook reaches the required expertise he is tied the turban on head declaring that he is full qualified.it is an informal diploma like recognition.
as regards the question how meat and rice to cook together. it can be done. the hyderabadis may have picked this up fm the yemenis. there is a a population of 2 lakh peopleof yemeni origin in old hyderabad. the ancestors if these hadramoutis fm yemen where employed by the nizams in the treasury and as perosnl body guards. to this day i hv seen biriyani being cooked in yemen with meat and rice together, teh meat n rice is put in a pressure cooker with very littel water and some spices and dry lemon n litte oil. the rest of water and oil is compensated by the water comoing fm teh meat and the fat fm the meat respectively. very tender lamb
Let me make it clear to each & everyone.U may cook Biryani in any part
of the world,but the taste of Hyderabadi Biryani cooked in Hyderabad has
special taste.Simple reason,which no one can deny is that ,there is
something special in the water of Hyderabad.Being a Hyderabadi, I have
travelled many places in the world & I tasted the Biryani,but
unfortunately,the Hyderabadi taste never ,ever comes.
The two most popular variations, one of them, pakki biryani (well-cooked) as detailed above where 'cooked' meat and semi-cooked rice are layered for a final 'dum' over low flame. The other variety well described in the excellent write-up is the 'kachi' /raw biryani enjoyed world over specially among Hyderabadi diaspora. The meat is seasoned with a variety of spices and spread at the bottom of the cooking utensil. Rice is half-cooked, drained and layered on top of the meat, well covered for a final dum. No need to check regularly, the aroma (steam)tells you when it is ready. One word of caution though. You need to know how to dish it out. Otherwise we end up serving just the biryani rice and the delicious tender meat remain at the bottom.
Meat can be easily substituted with fried vegetables (peas, carrot, cauliflower, runner beans etc). Internet is abound in Hyderabadi biryani recipes. Bon apetit
In the US, I use a 'slow cooker' for getting the 'dum' effect. Since the thick porcelain does not impart any earthen flavor, I use a small piece of coal (wooden, not the rock coal) dipped in ghee to get a similar flavor. I wrap it in silver foil and put it on the top of rice during the 'dum' process.
Basically, kachi biryani requires patience and skill compared to pakki biryani. And, I'm not always successful!
We delhiites are unlucky to compromise with whate ever Biryani they claim to be Hayderabadi in some of the shops.
Some very proudly placesa signeage to denote HYDERABADI BIRYANI--
but I doubt.
Does one have to visit Hyderabad or is there any other way like transporting it on a regular basis thru franchises etc.
The meat is raw covered with some ghee/oil, spices and masala ( onions, mint yogurt etc) and is kept at the bottom the rice which is semi boiled 60 % cooked is drained ( but still steaming ) and placed on the meats,
the lid is put on and should SEAL the vessel as it is in the STEAM (dum) that the meats and rices cook this is cooked on slow heat and the juices and moisture content in the meats and yogurt is what cooks the rice and infuses the flavors.
Biryani boleto Hyderabadi Biryani....I miss it a lot...
The specialty of Hyderabad Biryani is more preparation time and less 10 to15 minutes cooking time depending on the quantity.
The biriyani may be wonderful, but the writing is at third standard level. The article has no content other than saying that Hyderabadi briyani is unique, unique, unique...reader, please don't miss the fact that the author proves that the biriyani is unique. The Hindu could do better.
Mr.Akbar is quite right .I believe the rest of the 25 percent rice gets cooked by a process of steam and vacuum created by tying a piece of cloth over the mouth of the vessel and then covering it with a lid and applying pressure over this lid with some stones ,bricks or other weights. This is also known as thalapakattu biryani in south India ,due to the use of this cloth or turban .
No - rice and Mutton are NOT cooked separately! Meat is marinated in a rich mix of ghee, fried onion, certain spices, ginger garlic and curd for several hours. Sone add kacha papaya for mutton to get cooked. After marination, meat and rice get cooked at the same time. That's the beauty about Hyd Biryani
There are many web sites wrongly promoting Arabs as the one who developed biriyani. How can nomads who dont cultivate rice be the inventor of making biriyani? The spices which goes into its making is not available in the desert. It has to be those who grow rice and other ingredients and logically it is Indians. Briyani is one of our wonderful food.
mr.hilary pais in hyderabadi biryani mutton is marinade for 2 hours with all igridents and only soft mutton is choosed for making it in raw style
For vegetarian variant, my wife cooks the vegetables and spices first (with salt), and
adds them to soaked biryani rice, 'soaked for 30minutes', and add 1.5 times water.
She cooks in Rice cooker and the biryani comes out perfect.
Although born in Lucknow I am a fan of Hyderabadi Biryani as well & it rates equally well with the Awadhi Biryani. However in metro cities with large migrant populations a lot of fake Hyderabad Biryani is being served. I had many such accidents trying to find real biryani in NCR. What is served as biryani is : White boiled rice poured in a large frying pan with lot of oil & tomato ketchup on top to make it look like red biryani rice, then it is fried on open flame on a large stove till it is hot & then 2-3 pieces from butter-chicken gravy are put on top of biryani. That's Hyderabadi biryani for you in NCR. Even tandoori chicken is cooked in an odd way: first it is painted red using artificial colour & then put in tandoor for few minutes & served either burnt or slightly raw with salt & lemon. I request real food connoisseurs to take up the case of us food lovers & punish these fake biryani sellers.
While I share the sentiments the former chairman of the Minority
Commission and admit to being an avowed fan of the (many) biryani(s)
of Hyderabad, he is a bit off the mark in saying that cooking meat and
rice together to make biryani is unique to Hyderabad. The meat infused
pulaos of Kashmir and Bengal, the keora laced Lakhnavi biryani are
cooked in this manner too. A host of Parsi outlets that dot Mumbai and
Pune cook their biryanis in this manner as well. Not to mention the
hordes of houses all across India who mix rice, spices, meat and
condiments into the pressure cooker and listen to the whistles and
salivate in anticipation.
But given the emotion charged subject, I, as a reader planning my next
biryani, will overlook this little loss of objectivity :)
Cooking of mutton curry of Biriyani known as Aqni is first started. When it is almost ready,it is taken off from the stove and the rice is cooked separately in another vessel. It has to be carefully observed that the rice is to be cooked to only about 75 percent and taken out from stove to drain the water from rice. We may call it as a semi- cooked rice. This Aqni is then added to the rice, mixed gently and cooked for a short duration at low flame. The rice is checked regularly and as soon as it is sufficiently cooked, the Biriyani is ready to be served. Maybe there are other ways, but the above method is used successfully by my wife for a wonderful Biriyani.
Can Hyderabadi biryani has vegetarian recipe since I am a vegetarian.
There is no doubt that Hyderabad biryani is one of the best but you are missing on details. Mutton takes two hours to cook in a handi while rice takes only 20 minutes. Is rice added later to the handi when mutton is almost cooked?
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