Are you looking for this kind of information that is functional and useful to lead a sensible life in Hyderabad? Check this section, which provides the necessary information regarding the basic facilities and services available in Hyderabad.

In order to save your time and effort, we have gathered all the important information from various credible sources and kept it at one place. Some of the major topics covered in this section are:

Public Transportation in Hyderabad
Without any doubt, public transportation in Hyderabad is great. You have autos, cabs, MMTS and of course our own RTC buses. Many people are unaware of the major bus routes, bus passes and their renewals, important phone numbers of RTC, renting buses and booking tickets for outstation travel. You will also get information on the MMTS services in the city. You can get MMTS timings, list of MMTS stations and even the route map of the MMTS.

Wards, Zones and Circles in GHMC
You will definitely want to know to which ward, zone/circle you belong to in GHMC. We have provided the detailed list of circles and wards under each zone in GHMC. You can also get the list of corporators in each ward; MLAs in each constituency, etc.

E-Seva Services in Hyderabad
E-Seva is one stop shop for all citizen utility services in Hyderabad. This section offers you complete information of all the services offered by e-seva, locations of e-seva etc.

Hyderabad Map
Know where you can get accurate maps in Hyderabad. This section also provides frequently searched maps of Hyderabad which include maps of central Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Old City and its suburban areas. It also provides useful information on how to use Google maps.

Radio Stations in Hyderabad
Know about radio station frequencies for FM, Shortwave and medium wave stations in Hyderabad.

Auto dealerships in Hyderabad
Planning to buy a vehicle? Find car dealerships and two-wheeler dealerships in Hyderabad. Also find the list of best petrol pumps in Hyderabad.

Food
There are many good places to eat in Hyderabad. In this section, find informative articles on good restaurants, popular cuisines, and regular eating places in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad city updates
Know about the current developments and issues in Hyderabad in this section. We gather information from various news sources to help you increase awareness.

Cooking biryani is not as easy as it sounds in many recipe sites (at least if you want to make it authentic). As you are cooking the meat and the rice together, at a time, it requires lots of attention and patience to makes sure that biryani may not end up with over-cooked rice or under-cooked meat. Also using excess of water in cooking also makes biryani loose its taste as well as the proteins in it.

In order to server all these properties, both the meat and the rice should be cooked evenly on small and spread flame, for a long time. For this, the biryani is prepared in a special utensil called Deg, and more preferably on a wooden stove. You can call it one of the secrets of cooking Hyderabadi biryani.

The deg is a traditional Indian cookware, a shallow metal pot, generally made of clay, brass, aluminum, copper and even stainless steel. For copper vessels, a small amount of nickeling is done, without which it is poisonous. Its bottom is round, thick and deep. Towards the opening, it linearly tapers into a narrower neck, almost into a conical shape. From the neck, it again flares out into a broad opening, a little smaller in diameter than the largest diameter of the pot. It also has a wide lip/ rim around its top edge to make it easy to carry. Overall it looks like a pot with uncurved walls.

The bottom is thick to make sure that the meat is not sticking to the base of the vessel, being cooked with little water for a long time. Its design also ensures even distribution of heat from all sides of the bottom and heat retention for longer time without burning the food. The tapered walls heat up faster and distribute it evenly from sides.

After layering meat and rice in the utensil, it is then covered with a lid. The lid is then sealed with a water and flour paste. The flour seal makes sure that the little water, we are cooking with, doesn’t escape the vessel. This method is called Dum-Pukht, borrowed from Awadh cuisine. It is also important to leave around 1/4th of the vessel free after layering the rice and meat, for the steam to collect and aid in cooking.

Now being cooked on a slow flame, the meat is set to cook well in its own juices, along with the layered rice. When these juices convert into steam, it gets collected in the free space at the opening and then try to escape the vessel. But as the vessel is sealed, the steam condenses and rolls down the sharp slope back in to the food. This cycle keeps continuing till the cooking is done.

Thus, the genuine aroma, flavor and texture of the meat and spices are not only stopped from escaping, it is also spread to the rice in the biryani.

Professional cooks make Biryani on firewood, as it spreads the flame and gives consistent heat on all sides. It is not possible to cook biryani well on a regular gas stove in which flame comes as a torch rather than a spread out flame. When cooking at home or an event where firewood is not possible, look for a stove with the flame that spreads wide.

The authentic Hyderabadi Biryani is the Kacchi gosh ki Biryani. Unlike the Pakki gosh ki Biryani where the meat will be well cooked before mixing with rice, for Kacchi Biryani the raw meat is first marinated and then layered together with the rice in the utensil and cooked together in steam. In order to cope up with the cooking of the rice, the meat should be tender or tenderized.

Though there are many chemical tenderizers in the market, the meat for Hyderabadi biryani is tenderized naturally using mash made of the grated skin of raw, unripe papaya. You can call it the secret ingredient, without which you will never be able to cook the authentic Hyderabadi Kacchi gosh ki Biryani‘s.

The papaya used for this will be chosen unripe, firm and deep green in color. The green skin is then peeled of up to about 1/8th to ¼” deep off the raw papaya and made into pieces. For every 2 tablespoons of papaya peel, ¼ teaspoon of salt is added.

This mixture is then made into a into a thick paste by grinding it. There is another dry version of this tenderizer for which you will have to Sun-dry the mixture instead of grinding it. You will be then left with a dry mash of papaya peel which is ready-to-use.

Though you have made enough paste out of a papaya, you will require only 4 tablespoons of papaya paste or dry mash for 1 kilo meat. The excess of papaya paste can be refrigerated for later use. The dry papaya mash is stored in a container and can be used for up to a year.

Marinating the meat is most crucial part of preparing the Kacchi gosh ki Biryani. It is here where the raw papaya mash is used along with yogurt, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, cardamom and other aromatic spices for around 3 to 4 hours. The ingredients added here not only tenderize the meat but also infuses a special flavor deep into the layers of meat.

Papaya contains an enzyme called Papain. Though you have marinated the meat with the tenderizing paste, the enzymes get activated only when you start cooking on heat.

When the Papain in contact with meat gets activated, the enzyme gelatins or breaks down the connective tissues in it. The gelatinized connective tissues mix with the tenderizing paste. As the meat is cooked along with the rice, the tenderizing paste also gets mixed with it and adds the special flavor to the rice too. Thus, the marinated meat is layered as it is in the biryani deg, along with the tenderizing paste. If you are just putting the meat without the paste, you are discarding lots of flavor.

The enzyme papain is more concentrated in the fruit when it is unripe. This is one of the reasons why we choose a raw papaya. Apart from adding flavor and tenderizing the meat, papain also helps to break down heavy proteins we consume along with the biryani, making it easily digested and absorbed into the body. Papain is also used in digestive enzyme dietary supplements and for treating gastrointestinal problems such as stomach ulcers and indigestion.

For an outsider this craze for biryani may look mysterious but once he/she tastes the authentic biryani, they will surely admire it. But most of the outsiders and even some people living in Hyderabad, particularly at outskirts are always confused whether to eat mutton or chicken biryani.

Whether to eat mutton or chicken biryani depends on type of the restaurant. Many hotels, restaurants and Irani cafés in the twin cities serve biryani. But in a good restaurant and during regular hours the quality of meat is good.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Chicken is much cheaper than mutton. You can get 1kg of chicken at around Rs.120 at retail market, whereas mutton costs around Rs.240 per kg. So you get more meat with chicken biryani than with mutton biryani. Many restaurants either do not use good mutton or give only limited meat quantity due to its cost. This affects the eating experience.

Only in a few places and during peak hours, you can have mutton biryani. Other times it is safer to go for chicken biryani. Also, when you are in doubt, it is always better to go for chicken biryani.

Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

However, when you cook biryani at home, always go for mutton biryani. It is the original one. Meat of the Telangana goat is considered as one of the best in the world. The semi arid vegetation of the Deccan plateau with its rolling hills, boulders and volcanic ash is a great place to rear goats. In deltas where land is fertile and no free land exists like in coastal Andhra, goats are not very common.

Chicken is a very late entrant in Hyderabad. It is not uncommon in old time Hyderabadies to not eat chicken at all or dislike it. It was not part of the regular meats in Hyderabad till barely a couple of decades.

Apart from mutton and chicken biryani, there are many other varieties of non-vegetarian and vegetarian biryanies today. The creativity of the people innovated a number of biryanies such as fish, prawn, egg and vegetable etc. However, mutton and chicken biryani are popular.

Read more on Hyderabad Biryani from HIOC

1. First go to http://maps.google.com OR go to www.google.com and click on the “maps” tab.
2. Just put in the name of area in Hyderabad you want to look for in search field and click search. For example type in “Ameerpet Hyderabad”
3. A detailed Hyderabad map will be displaced in right panel window. In left panel, you will see varied information about prominent places and their photos.
4. Sometimes, other users have created custom maps (called user created maps) that may be helpful too – since they mark and highlight some landmarks or areas.

Using Google maps Toolbars / Controls to get better Hyderabad Map:
There are various options which help you to customize the map to your needs.

1. Zoom in / Zoom out: A vertical bar on left side of map window allows you to zoom in or zoom out. You can also manually operate the slider to zoom in or zoom out. The “mouse scroll” control will also zoom in and zoom out of the map.
2. Navigation controls: Navigation controls inside a circle on top left corner helps you to navigate through Hyderabad city maps.
   • Pointers: You can pan to right, left, up, and down by clicking on direction “pointers” on navigation controls.
   • Hand symbol: When you point on the map anywhere except where there are other controls, you will see the “hand” symbol. Left click on any place and you can move left, right, top or bottom this allows you to adjust the areas that are included in the map.
3. Scale: There is a scale provided on the bottom left side. The distances can be figured out by the scale which is provided in both kilometers and miles. This is very useful for estimating the distances between areas on the Hyderabad map.
4. Map, Satellite, and Terrain views: There are 3 major views in the maps. The “map” is a conceptual diagram of Hyderabad drawn to a scale. The satellite view is an aerial view of Hyderabad from a satellite from up in the sky. This can be very useful to identify actual landmarks and buildings in Hyderabad. Finally, “terrain” view allows seeing the altitude of the various areas. This is more helpful in non-urban areas rather than in the city areas.
5. Print: On the top of the map, there is a “print” button that allows you to take the print out of the Hyderabad map. Clicking on the “print” opens the map in a new window with the map maximized on the new screen. This allows you to print the Hyderabad map properly while eliminating some the other side bars that come up in the regular browser window.
6. Send: Allows you to send this custom map to your email or to someone you know. All you need is their email ID and you can send the exact same Hyderabad maps view to them!

Related Articles:
Why use an online Hyderabad city map?
Hyderabad Map – Finding The Best One!
Survey of India Maps Give Extensive Information on Hyderabad

• Unlike traditional printed maps, even the most recent changes are updated in online maps. However, traditional maps could be having outdated information. Traditional maps are static maps and it takes a lot of time to update and insert information. Plus, many new roads may be missing. The city has also expanded rapidly, old maps do not cover the outskirts in sufficient detail. The online maps are continuously updated.
• Allows you to view maps at required level of detail through features like zoom in/out and different views.
• Online maps are more interactive while printed maps are static and only give detail up to a specific level. Various interactive features make it easy to understand information and easily follow road directions.
• Online maps are easy to distribute. One can easily email the map of the location which is convenient and saves a lot of time.
• Online maps allow you to switch views to see the maps in different formats. An online Hyderabad map includes photographs, terrain, satellite view which is not available in traditional map.
• Identified landmarks make it easy to follow the route in online maps and reach to destination. The online maps also provide route to the destination by computing the shorted route possible.

Google maps is one of the best way to get a Hyderabad map of the location of your interest to the level of detail you would like. This is a benefit that is not offered by any paper map. Plus, you could always print out the map (if you would like!)

Other additional features:

1. Provides step-by-step directions between two locations. Also provides the distance (Kms/Miles) and approximate time to reach the destination by car or public transport. But in public transport it is guiding only through MMTS services. Other public transports like busses are not mentioned.
2. Provides some useful information through Wikipedia on some important places like Charminar, Hitech city, Golconda etc. by clicking ‘Wikipedia’ in ‘More’ option.
3. Provides real estate information like sale/rent of flats in apartments in the Hyderabad city through major real estate websites.
4. You can view the local photos of some of the important places like Charminar, statue of Buddha, Gandhi hospital etc. by clicking ‘Photos’ in ‘More’ option.
5. You can also watch some of the videos related to the specific area by clicking on ‘Videos’ in ‘More’ option.
6. You can also put your business on the Google maps, so that others who are looking for your address can easily find it and know your operational timings and other information. Customers can also find your business in local business results.
7. You can create personalized maps by marking your favorite places, adding photos, videos and other information you know and share with others.
8. You can add or give a title or add text in the map. You can make your map public or unlisted.
9. You can also add Google maps on your website. It helps your customers locate your businesses or to help your friends find your home through your blog.
10. You can search local businesses, locations, content created by others, related maps and other websites which use maps.
11. You can also search for any specific location or business, by searching nearby area or landmark.

Related Articles:
Instructions to use Google maps for viewing Hyderabad City
Hyderabad Map – Finding The Best One!
Survey of India Maps Give Extensive Information on Hyderabad

We all know that the Hyderabadi Biryani is part of history as it was first prepared in the kitchens of the Nizam. Whereas Andhra Biryani is part of geography, where the local ingredients as well as the taste preferences influence it.

Unlike most people of Telangana region, people of Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema prefer hot mirchi powder to garam masala. So they transformed garam masala spiced Hyderabadi Biryani into a chilli powder based Andhra Biryani. Though the taste is different from the authentic Hyderabadi Biryani, it has a unique taste that definitely tickles your taste buds.

When it comes to ingredients, green chilly paste and a lot of spices like cloves, peppercorns, black cumin, cardamom, cinnamon etc. are used in Hyderabadi Biryani. In Andhra Biryani, usage of spices is little bit less but red chilly powder is extensively used. All the other ingredients like Basmati rice and ghee are used as usual. However, typical Andhra Biryani is mostly available with chicken. Mutton Biryani is available only in some small number of restaurants.

Mirchon ka saalan (chilli curry), which generally accompanies the Hyderabadi biryani, is many times not provided with Andhra Biryani.

Anupama hotel at Ameerpet, Blue-Fox at Himayathnagar are famous for Andhra Biryani in our city. Biryani at Hyderabad House, S.R nagar is somewhat different from other branches in the city as most of the people in that area like Andhra version.

Read more on Hyderabad Biryani from HIOC

There is variety of choices in Punjabi dishes for Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians. Vegetarians can relish dishes like Aloo Matar, Palak Paneer, Paneer Kababs, Matar Panner, Malai Kofta, Punjabi Kadhi, Dal Makhani etc. For those liking non-vegetarian dishes there is delicious Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Makhani, Chicken Kofta etc. Lastly, a perfect way to end a meal at a Punjabi restaurant is with a Lassi or Chhach (butter milk).

Punjabi restaurants in Hyderabad:
There are many Punjabi restaurants in Hyderabad. Some of the popular ones are:

Jeet’s Kitchen: Located opposite MacDonald in Kharkhana area, one can get the feel of authentic Punjabi culture in this restaurant. It has been one of the oldest restaurants from Kharkhana area. It has been able to thrive for several years as many Armed forces people living and settled in Hyderabad are closeby.

Sagar Papaji Ka Dhaba: Located at Hanuman Tekdi in Abids, this dhaba is also one of the oldest Punjabi Dhaba’s in town and still maintains excellent taste despite many decades of serving patrons. The place is neat but nothing fancy is there. It has a separate section for families. They serve dishes for all types of middle class. This is not a fine restaurant, but a great restaurant when you crave for authentic Punjabi style cooking. There is limited parking in front of the store. Although it’s not a fancy place, but one can get a great taste of food whenever visited. The Dhaba can be reached after taking first left after Big Bazaar Abids while proceeding towards Koti.

Mohini’s Restaurant: It is one of the landmark eating places in Basheerbagh and remains a very crowded place in working days for lunch. However, there is very less rush in the evenings and it is suitable time to visit with family. Parking is also not a problem as it has abundant on-street parking. Ever since the Basheerbagh flyover is in place, very few vehicles come below anyway. They have recently revamped and still revamping the restaurant. One can also enjoy good meals with family due to a recently added swank family section. The restaurant’s ‘Zafrani Biryani’ is the favorite delicacy for some people. Other standard Punjabi items like pepper chicken, ginger chicken, jeera rice, chicken 65 are also good. This is not a fine restaurant, but is a great restaurant where the waiters make you feel welcome.

Degchee: Located at Habsiguda / Tarnaka area, it is one of the oldest restaurants in the area that has been serving consistently good authentic Punjabi food for decades. If one is lucky (in season), he can even get Sarsoon ka Saag and Makke ki roti over here. This is a non-fancy place and one can experience a great food which is inexpensive. One can find a decent parking on-street in front of the restaurant.

Desh Punjabi Dhaba: This is a very small take out place opposite the old Hyderabad Stock Exchange building. What is great about this place is its low prices and great tasting ‘Kalmi Kabab’. If there is a contest for Kababs in Hyderabad City, the ‘Kalmi Kabab’ from Desh Punjabi would be among the top 3 winners. It is worth the effort of ordering only this one item from here, even if one has to get the rest of items from else where. The best part is that it is priced very affordably at about Rs.100/- or so for 4 pieces.

Reshmi Dhaba: It is another old restaurant tucked away on the first floor on Park Lane diagonally opposite Hiking Restaurant (another good Chinese restaurant). The ambience is good and the food is consistently good. This place can be visited when one is looking for a good Punjabi Cuisine in the Secunderabad / Paradise area. There is a place for on-street parking. However, finding parking on this street is a little tricky.

Astoria and Bawarchi are the two famous Biryani restaurants located at RTC Cross Roads. Astoria restaurant is exactly opposite to Sandhya theatre on the main road towards Vidyanagar.

It has three sections, one at the ground floor for blue collared and for those who eat quickly and move. This section is generally crowded but you will get a table in no time. There is another section at this floor where it offers tea, snacks and beverages. Family section is located at the first floor and it is air-conditioned. It is a great place for families, but you can also go alone or with friends if you don’t like the ‘speed section’ at the ground floor.

It serves both chicken and mutton Biryani along with vegetarian version, curries, kebabs, grilled chicken, dumkha chicken, butter chicken, tandoori roti, naan and many more items. Biryani, be it mutton or chicken, both are immensely popular here. Authentic Hyderabadi desserts like Qubani ka Meeta and Double ka Meeta are also available here. But this is not a great place to try vegetarian items.

The food prepared here is not hot (more red chilly powder) but spicy because of the Garam Masala. It is non-oily. Hyderabadies generally prefer this kind of food, and we are sure they wont be disheartened. You can also order biryani with ‘double masala’ if you like it to be more spicy. If you want to have more meat (mutton) in your biryani, you can insist on ‘double ghosh’ while ordering. Not only Hyderabadies, people from other places can also relish this food.

Apart from the quality, the quantity of the food served is worth mentioning here. One plate Biryani is enough for two people with average eating capacity. If there are many people in your group, you can also order ‘Family’ or ‘Jumbo’ pack. Water provided at this restaurant is good but we recommend you not to take chances and to go with packed drinking water.

There is a parcel section, again at ground floor, which offers you quick takeaways. Though the parcel section is crowded most of the times, it won’t take more than 10 minutes for you to get your item. The quantity of biryani is even more in parcel.

You need not worry about your vehicle while eating, as there is a reasonable parking space available in front of the restaurant. Savor the authentic Hyderabadi biryani and choose any good movie from the nearby cluster of theatres.

Read more on Hyderabad Biryani from HIOC

This two storied store is a good place for fast sellers. The collection is mostly focused on academic books for higher education that has a variety of sections such as medicine, management, law, geography, software etc. Non-academic books collection is small when compared to the other but it has the fast selling editions of famous authors both Indian and foreign. But both fiction and non-fiction categories are not properly segregated from each other. A few translated versions of selected English bestsellers found their place at the entrance of the store.