The story of Hyderabadi Biryani : Nawabi cuisine

The story of Hyderabadi Biryani : Nawabi cuisine

    A walk down any Hyderabadi street will show eateries and takeaways with the word "Biryani". Mention it to anyone and their eyes will light up. It is Hyderabad's all time favourite dish. People have it throughout the year and even keep bets whose prize is Biryani !

         The history of Biryani is bit of a mystery. The word ''Biryan" means to fry before cooking in Persian. It could also have come from the Persian word for rice, birinj.  Some sources mention that it was made for the military from the time of Emperor Babur. Also it might have developed from a mix of Indian spicy rice dishes and a Persian pulao-like dish. The dish developed in the Mughal kitchens, some sources mention. Biryani may have been derived from 'pulao' (a lightly flavoured rice dish) varieties brought to the Indian subcontinent by Arab traders.This awesomely flavoured rice with spices and mutton/chicken/ vegetables/egg or fish/prawn is very popular. The original biryani though is actually made with mutton or lamb/goat meat, the later varieties are deviations. Hyderabad's cuisine is a composite mix of many cultures and tastes. Mughal, British and the local cuisine from the surrounding areas. The Nizami kitchens, especially that of Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, Nizam VI brought out delectable delicacies. The master chef was called Khansaman. The Falaknama Palace at Hyderabad has the largest dining table in the world. The repertoire of dishes has happened over time and includes starters like lukhmi and tootak. The breads include naan, roti, naazuknaan, naanpaneeri, warqi paratha, sheermaal, asadkhani among others. Kebabs are another important part of the cuisine with taas kebab, Barq kebab, kebaba chalki among a few others. Koftas, khormas and  curries like baghare baingan and mirch ka salan are well liked. Pathar ka gosht cooked on stone is also a part of Hyderabad's culinary history.

                              Hyderabadi Kucchi Biryani, image.

The recipe of Hyderabadi biryani  uses ghee, cinnamon,onions,raw papaya,mutton,curd,red chillies,salt,caraway or shahjeera,garlic,ginger, a fine long grained rice known as Basmati rice,cardamom,cloves,saffron,milk, corainder,mint and lime juice.

   

The recipe for Hyderabadi Kucchi Biryani is on this link -

https://youtu.be/WOvFCGjGp1A

Spices for Biryani, image.

Biryani is a not eaten alone. It has accompaniments like raita and mirch ka salan. Boiled eggs are also added to the main recipe after preparation. Raita usually has onion, curd, herbs and some spices.

Raita served alongside, image.

The recipe for raita is in the following link :

https://youtu.be/4asXPpA1iOo

Chicken Biryani, image.

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani, image.

Dining table, Falaknama Palace,Hyderabad.

References :

1.Asifya cuisines/Ed. by Zahid Ali Khan, Hyderabad : Siasat Presentation, 2013.

2.https://youtu.be/WOvFCGjGp1A
3. The essential Andhra cookbook/Latif, Bilkees, New Delhi : Penguin Books,1999.
4.wikipedia.org
5. Images are from Wikimedia Commons

Posted by :

Soma Ghosh

Ⓒauthor