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| Hyderabadi Biryani |
If you ask people to cast their vote for the best thing they have come across in Hyderabad, the maximum votes would be in favor of the delectable Hyderabadi delicacy, Hyderabadi Biryani. If you want to taste the best cuisine of Hyderabad then Biryani is always in the topmost position of your list. Though foodies can enjoy varieties of Biryani but traditional Hyderabadi Biryani is prepared using mutton.
Biryani is a wholesome dish having Basmati Rice and Mutton as
the main ingredients. Spices like garlic, onions, and ginger along with Ghee
are needed to prepare this tasty dish of Hyderabad. Biryani gets served with
raita, onion salad, Mirchi ka Saalan and lime pieces. Sometimes chicken and
Vegetables replace mutton depending on the preference of people. Biryani has
derived its name from the word “Birian”, a Farsi word.
Traditionally Hyderabadi
Biryani used to get prepared in Hundi or Deksha, a conical vessel.
Preparation of Biryani is done on steam. Biryani is categorized into two types
which are Pakki Biryani and Kutchi Biryani. Another popular class of Biryani in
India, the Awadi Biryani, a traditional
dish of Lucknow, is Pakki Biryani where meat and rice are first cooked
separately and then they get mixed together.
Hyderabadi Biryani is different from Awadhi Biryani as
it is Kutchi Biryani where meat, rice are put in a layer inside the Hundi and
then cooking is done on steam. The cover of hundi is sealed using dough so that
steam does not come out. Because of its cooking method, Hyderabadi Biryani is also popularly called Dum ka Biryani or
Kutchi Gost ki Biryani.
Biryani got introduced into north Indian region from Persia
and in south India it got introduced by the Arabs who landed in Calicut for
doing trades. During the Mughal Era, Biryani got introduced into the kitchen of
the Nizam of Hyderabad. Slowly it became the royal dish of Nizams and Nawabs of
southern and Deccan region of India. The uniqueness of Hyderabadi Biryani is its Mirchi ka Saalan where tamarind is used
for preparing it.
You can try this following recipe of Mutton Biryani from
Hyderabad.
The main ingredients of this Biryani are mutton (1 KG), 1
tablespoon of salt, red chilli paste, ginger-garlic paste, and green chilli
paste each, cardamom powder (1/2
tablespoon), 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 4 cloves, mint leaves, 2
tablespoon of lemon juice, curd (250 gm), few sticks of cinnamon, sautéed brown
onion, clarified butter ( 4 tablespoon), 1 teaspoon saffron, semi-cooked rice
(semi-cooked rice), water (1/2 cup)and oil (1/2 cup).
After meat is cleaned, it is put into a pan along with all
the spices including lemon juice and mint leaves. Then curd, butter, saffron,
oil, water and semi-cooked rice is put into the pan and mixed well. The cover
is put on the pan and it is sealed using dough. The biryani is cooked on low
flame for about 25 minutes. When it is done, it can be garnished with boiled
eggs, slices of cucumbers and carrots.
