Hyderabadi cuisine

                                               Hyderabadi cuisine

Hyderabadi cuisine (native:Hyderabadi Ghizaayat) also known as Deccani cuisine of India, was developed after the foundation of Qutb Shahi dynasty by  Sultan Quli, promoting the native cuisine along with their own. Hyderabadi cuisine had become a princely legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad. It is an amalgamation of Mughai, 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.

Kachhi Gosht ki Biryani

Hyderabadi cuisine is found in the kitchens of the Hyderabad city that  includes Telangan, Marathwada region (now in Maharashtra), and Hyderabad Karanataka region (now in Karnataka). The cuisine also contains city-specific specialities like Hyderabad Biryani  and Aurangabad (Naan Qalia), Parbhani  (Tahari), and  Bidar (Kalyani Biryani).

The cuisine emphasizes the use of ingredients that are carefully chosen and cooked to the right degree and time. Utmost attention is given to picking the right kind of spices, meat, and rice. Therefore, an addition of a certain herbs, spice, condiments, or a combination of these adds a distinct taste and aroma.

The key flavours are of coconut, tamarind, peanuts and sesame seeds which are extensively used in many dishes. The key difference from the North Indian cuisine is the use of dry coconut and tamarind in its cuisine.

Traditional utensils made of coper, brass, and earthen pots are used for cooking. All types of cooking involve the direct use of fire. There is a saying in Hyderabad, cooking patiently (ithmenaan se) is the key; slow-cooking is the hallmark of Hyderabadi cuisine. The Slow-cooking method has its influence from the Dum Pukht method used in Awadi cuisine.

Mutton DUM Biryani

Hyderabadi Cuisine has different recipes for different events, and hence is categorized accordingly, like banquet food, for weddings and parties, festival foods and travel foods. The category to which the recipe belongs itself speaks of different things like the time required for preparing the food, the shelf life of the prepared item, etc

Mehboob Alam Khan is a foremost expert on the Hyderabadi cuisine.

Hyderabadi cuisine has evolved over centuries from foreign and native influences. The cuisine began to form during the medieval times and was reached to extend during modern period through the work of skilled chefs serving the Deccan nobility. The city of Hyderabnad being the seat of former rulers was the center of many innovative techniques led by royal chefs (known as Khansamas) that eventually gave form to modern Hyderabadi cuisine.

                         

                                Medieval period

The Deccan region is an inland area in India. The native cuisine was prominent until the Vijayanagar Empire lasted, it was during the rule of Delhi Sultanate, and Muhammad bin Tughlug, who shifted the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, the Deccan region adopted the foreign cuisines. In the 14th century when the Bahmani Sultanate was formed by revolting against the Delhi Sultanate in the Deccan, the Turkish noblemen were appointed in the high positions, and introduced the Turkish cuisine.

The two-centuries-long political instability in the region of the Deccan and the main Central Mughal authority and migration has introduced Deccan with multiple foreign cuisines.

In Deccan medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy. Multiple courses would be prepared and served in a style called Dastarkhan, a long cloth, laid on floor on which food dishes and dinners plates are placed. Food was generally eaten by hand, served on among commons and nobility. The food was mostly meat oriented being grilled and fried in tandoor. The curries were highly seasoned and flavored by using spices. Fruits were preferred rather than dessert after main course. Once the meals are ended Kahwa a liquid hot drink was consumed that contains ingredients to digest food. The ingredients of the cuisine varied greatly according to the seasons and festivals, and many items were preserved in the form of Pickles

                          

                                  Modern period

Hyderabadi pakki Biryani

The modern cuisine was evolved during the Nizams in the mid-17th century, and elevated to a sublime art form. Hyderabad has a history of continuous influx of migrants from all over the world and in general from the Indian sub-continent, particularly since 1857. Most of the foreign food had been improved to suit the culinary preferences, resulting to form the unique derivative cuisine that excels over the original. Biryani of Turkish and Haleem of Arabic cuisine is prepared all over India, but the Hyderabadi variety is ultimately form the Hyderabadi Biryani and Hyderabadi Haleem, Til chutney with Arabic tahini, Persian dried lamb with beans is modified with dalcha, tanduri naan of Uzbek of central Asia, to create Sheermal. Most of the modern day desserts in Hyderabadi cuisine were introduced and invented during the times of Nizams today that have become an integral part of Hyderabadi cuisine.

The Hyderabadi cuisine contains city specific specialties like Hyderabad (Hyderabadi biryani and Hyderabadi Haleem) and Aurangabad Naan [Qalia], Parbhani  [tahari], Bidar (kalayani Biryani) and others. The use of dry coconut, tamarind, and red chillies along with other spices are the main ingredients that make Hyderabadi cuisine different from the  North Indian Cuisine.

In the past, the food was called Ghizaayat. The cuisine is linked to the nobles, who religiously maintain the authenticity of the past, and the recipes are a closely guarded secret. The royal cooks are known as Khansamas, highly regarded by the nobles. Shahi Dastarkhan  is the Dining place, where food is served and eaten. A chowki is a low table, instead of a dining table and cotton mattresses for squatting and blosters for the back rest. The Dastarkhan is revered in the noble household.

Hyderabadi Biryani

 

The ingredients of Hyderabadi cuisine is basically a meat and rice oriented cuisine, it contains a variety of ingredients that are commonly used, ranging from vegetables, spices, meats, flavors, fruits and others. In the city of Hyderabad and its urban, use of flavors, tomato and tamarind are the most common ingredients. Meat (such as mutton and chicken) dishes are prepared by the technique of Dum [steam cooking, sealing the dish with dough and gently simmering its ingredients over a slow fire, to increasing the absorption of aromatic spices.).

The herbs and spices used in the dish as well as the method of preparation gives the dish its name. For example, Murgh do Pyaaza is named so because Onion ('Pyaaz') is added to the dish twice, in different variations.

On Formal occasions, the food is garnished with Warq (a very fine, pure silver leaf created by prolonged hammering and flattening of a small piece of silver).

There are different types of Biryans, which we will see in the further notes, so long friends wish you a good day!