HYDERABADI BIRYANI

Hyderabadi cuisine also known as Deccani cuisine, is the native cooking style of the Hyderabad, the haute cuisine of Hyderabad began to develop after the foundation of the Bahmani Sultanate, and the Qutub Shahi dystany centered in the city of Hyderabad promoted the native cuisine along with their own. Hyderabadi cuisine had become a princely legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad as it began to further develop under their patronage.

The Hyderabadi cuisine is an amalgamation of Mughal, Turkish and Arabic along with the influence of the native Telugu and Marathwada cuisines. Hyderabadi cuisine comprises a broad repertoire of rice, wheat and meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices, herbs and natural edibles.

Hyderabadi biryani, also known as Hyderabadi dum biryani, is a style of biryani from Hyderabad, India is made with basmati rice and goat meat and cooked with dum pukht method. Originating in the kitchens of Nizams of Hyderabad, it combines elements of Hyderabadi and Mughlai cuisines. Hyderabadi biryani is a key dish in Hyderabadi cuisine.

Hyderabad was conquered by the Mughals in the 1630s, and ruled by its Nizams. Mughlai culinary traditions joined with local traditions to create Hyderabadi cuisine. Local folklore attributes the creation of Hyderabadi biryani to the chef of the first Nizam, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I, in the mid 18th century, during a hunting expedition. In 1857, when the Mughal Empire declined in Delhi, Hyderabad emerged as the center of South Asian culture, resulting into mix of innovations in Hyderabadi biryani.

The kachchi biryani is prepared with kachchi ghost( raw meat) marinated with spices overnight and then soaked in curd( dahi ) before cooking. The meat is sandwiched between layers of fragrant basmati rice and cooked "in dum" after sealing the handi( vessel ) with dough. This is a challenging process as it requires meticulous attention to time and temperature to avoid over-or under-cooking the meat.