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

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

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

There are a lot of restaurants in Hyderabad that get the authentic biryani part right – however, they fall short on either ambience, hygiene or hospitality.

One thing to remember; this is a very large restaurant – that caters to many segments of customers. One section handles mostly blue collared and construction worker kind of people. There is also another section that caters to beverages and snacks. Then there is the Garden – which used to be great place earlier. But due to the pollution around this area, you should avoid it. Finally, they have Persis Gold and Persis Platinum that are more upscale.

At one time, this place was not as big, so the experience was much better. However, after they constructed a gigantic new building – things can be very impersonal sometimes. It is likely that everytime you come, you may have a different experience.

Plus remember, restaurants in Hyderabad like big group of people. So if you turn up alone or with another person, you may feel a bit neglected.

If you are caucasian you are fine. If not, dress well – they have some staff who will classify you and direct you to an appropriate section of the restaurant based on their ‘profiling’. You are better off dressing sharp.

They serve good biryani both chicken and mutton. They have a variety of kebabs(chicken and lamb) which are delicious. Some popular entrees (dishes) are dumkha chicken, butter chicken, and kadai chicken. They serve an assortment of Indian breads – tandoori roti, naan and roomali roti. Overall, stay with the standard dishes. For desserts the authentic desert is Qubani ka meeta (made from Apricots) and Double ka meeta (made from bread fried in oil, then sweetened along with Indian cheese). They are good and the taste is gold standard. This is not a place to try novel dishes – rather a place where you get to taste the authentic moghlai food.

The food is spicy with many Indian spices. However, the use of hot chilli pepper is a little mild compared to other restaurants in town. However, sample the food and make sure you can handle the spice. Most of the dishes are cooked in large volume – the ability to serve with lesser spice will be limited (even if you ask for low or medium spice).

Despite its small quirks – Paradise Persis is hands down the best place in Hyderabad for Biryani and Moghlai cuisine. This restaurant has been in business for over 50 years, so they are not in to pinch a few extra rupees from a meal. If you are new to Hyderabad hire a taxi or an auto and just say “Paradise hotel – Paradise circle, Secunderabad”. Go for it and hope you like the food!

Paradise Takeaway at Masab Tank
For those who live on the other side of the city, Paradise for the first time has opened a takeaway outlet at Masab Tank cross road. It can serve the areas around Nampally, Vijaya Nagar Colony, Langar House, Mehdipatnam, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills etc. It serves the same authentic Hyderabadi biryani and those exotic kebabs. The takeaway remains open from 11:30am to 11:30 pm.

Read more on Hyderabadi Biryani from HIOC

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You can determine if a restaurant is serving authentic Hyderabadi Biryani by checking how it is served, finding how it is cooked and by the characteristics of the restaurant.

Here is what you should get with an authentic Biryani. An authentic Hyderabadi biryani  comes with Mirchi ka Saalan (Green Chili in brown gravy),  dahi chutney (curd & onions)  and onion salad with some lime pieces.  If any restaurant does not provide you all of these at no additional cost – you can just walk away.  These are absolutely the basic things that make the ‘Biryani’ meal.  If any one item is missing it is like serving a Pizza without the dough.

Secondly, the only authentic Biryani is the Dum ka Biryani .  It means the Rice and the meat are cooked together in steam in a large conical vessel called a deksha.  The lid is sealed with dough to prevent the steam from coming out and the food is slowly cooked typically on charcoal. This cooking method is what gives it the distinctive flavor and the taste.  This way of cooking in slow steam is difficult. A chef cannot really examine the biryani while it is cooking. Once they remove it from the flame, and the meat is overcooked or undercooked – the chef  cannot really make adjustments.

Many restaurants serving non-authentic biryani serve what is called pukki biryani – which means the meat and rice are cooked separately. Then, they mix them both at the end to create a biryani.   This is like mixing curry and rice.

Finally, remember that the Biryani was originally designed to serve quick meals to troops during war.  So any good Biryani restaurant will typically serve a large number of guests. The good biryani restaurants in Hyderabad serve tens of thousands of meals a day.

The above should hopefully help you figure out if a restaurant is serving Authentic Hyderabadi Biryani!

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