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

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.

Probably this is the farthest south that the Indian kite fighting is seen in such scale and enthusiasm. This has been happening for decades or should I say centuries now. Nobody seems to know which great grandfather was the first to fly kites in Hyderabad city.

The joy and pain of cutting others kites or losing your kite to an opponent makes the process engaging. It is just not the same experience when the kite is lost to the tree. On a similar note, I do not understand the fun of participating in an International kite festival – fancy kites that are flown into the sky. Boring, very boring. I feel sorry for those ‘International kite festival’ enthusiasts.

Kite flying requires participation from others. It is no fun to just fly your kite high and watch it. It is boring. The real fun comes from engaging in kite fighting duels. Some level of skill in flying and winning kite duels is important. Otherwise, you may lose the motivation to take the next kite and fly again after losing the past three! This is not for the faint-hearted or the unskilled.

At Sankranthi, the duels sometime become battle zone when every kite in the street gets involved in the same duel. Not only do you have to know kite flying, know the ‘art of kite fighting’, but also have a number of kites ready to replace your lost kites (Nobody is invincible in kite flying!).

At the same time, your neighbors should share the same level of enthusiasm. Otherwise, it becomes a deemed “boring kite zone” of Hyderabad city. For this reason, the earlier urbanized parts of Hyderabad show increased number of visitors on this holiday. In fact, many Hyderabadi’s working and living outside of Hyderabad (both in India and abroad) come to Hyderabad at this time to enjoy the fun. This is something that just cannot be recreated anywhere else. And what great time to have such fun with friends and family.

For this reason, may people in the city find a friend or relatives place for Sankranthi kite flying to have a good time. The host is happy too, because the more the kite enthusiasts, the better the excitement (and more kites available to fly!). Plus, kite fliers typically are so engrossed in flying the kites that they make few requests (Some water please, if you can! Otherwise, don’t bother I have to take care of that red kite guy).

In many apartments in real Hyderabad, it is not surprising to find a dozen people flying kites at the same time. Whereas the recently urbanized parts of Hyderabad definitely do not have the same atmosphere. You will not find this in Banjara Hills, Jubilee hills or Cyberabad. So if you wasted time looking for some good kite fun, next time step into real Hyderabad.

Some places like Begum Bazar having high concentration of passionate kite enthusiasts. These avid enthusiasts put out halogen lamps out at night (pointing to the sky) across entire neighborhoods to light up the sky to fly kites late in to the night. Funny, how the day and night matches inspire creativity!

Every kite duel enthusiast swears by their favorite kite shop. Many will purchase from Begum bazar, Gulzar house or Dhoolpet. A few get manja from places like Rajkot, Surat and Rae Barelli to get the extra edge over their opponent. There are many varieties of kite sizes and manja types to choose from. And shopping a few days before the event is no fun either with the reputed shops swamped with customers doing last minute shopping (Indian style!)

If anyone needs to find if they are in cosmopolitan Hyderabad or not, they just need to visit Hyderabad on Sankranthi. If the kites are flying then they are in real Hyderabad. Same with apartments, if no adults flying kites in the apartment these are all newbies to Hyderabad city brought up in a different culture and not very enthusiastic about Hyderabad culture.

Thanks to the extended vacation this year, school going kids got a lot of practice in kite flying this year. I am sure the kite shop owners did better business than earlier. My kite shop guy gave me fresh kites this year, last year he passed on the year before production. So, overall Hyderbadis had a great kite flying season. This one was also long since the kite flying lasted 4 days – Thu, Fri, Sat and Sunday! You can’t expect more than that. For sure, we have added some tan and a few cuts to the fingers. So, time to say goodbye to Sankranthi kite flying this year and looking forward to next year.

Ofen is one of the popular bakeries in Hyderabad. It is located at Banjara Hills road no.10 near St. Alphonsus High School. It was established in 2005 and since then it is serving authentic and original European delicacies. You can taste items including breads, cookies, pastries, sweets, cakes, pastas, salads, sandwiches and even continental meals.

The Ofen has a bakery, café lounge, continental roof top restaurant, Wi-fi enabled facilities for surfers and children’s playing area. The kitchen is clean and you can also get a glimpse of what is being baked inside. It also provides home delivery service as well as corporate catering or bulk ordering services. Ofen won the ‘Best Confectionary’ Times Food Guide Award in 2009. It’s a pleasant experience visiting Ofen enjoying the Swiss flavors.

Hyderabad being a cosmopolitan city, you can get snacks famous in other regions of the country also. Wada Pav, Kutchi Dabeli and Sandwiches are famous here. Meshed potato and besan along with suitable spices is fried and sandwiched into a bun to make Wada Pav. Kutchi Dabeli, which is very rare even in Mumbai or Pune, is available here. In Kutchi Dabeli, a thick sweet and salty curry is sandwiched into a bun and roasted. Even if you are having this kind of snacks for the first time, you will relish this food. The items available here are a bit spicy, as Hyderabadies may prefer to the original one. You can also have other regular items such as Pizzas, Burgers and ice creams.

They provide clean drinking water but we recommend you to purchase packaged drinking water. Washrooms are not provided but a hand wash is available outside.

There is some 20 feet open place in front of this joint where more than 20 persons can sit under the cool shadows of trees. More than 10 people can sit inside. We recommend you to sit inside, as pollution outside is heavy these days.

Environment is hygienic, and food is prepared in a clean environment. Service is quick and courteous. They serve food in good quality disposable plates. Overall we can say that the quality of maintenance is good.

There is some reasonable space on the road where you can park your vehicles without disturbing the traffic flow. This eatery remains open from 2:30 in the afternoon till 10:30 in the night.

If you want to taste Masala Pav, which is just like a Wada Pav but more spicier, you can find this unique item at Mayur Juice and Ice cream center next to it. In case, you go with someone who wants to have Paani Puri, Pav Bhaji, Aaloo toast or even pan, then again next to it is Mayur Pan Plaza offering these delicacies. There is a lot of space to sit and it can be regarded as a good hangout place but not world famous.