Dawat-e-Nizam, the Hyderabadi food festival on at La Brasserie at Le Meridien from August 3 to 12 is an attempt to recreate the magic of the era of the Nizams.

“Hyderabadi food uses local ingredients of the region like peanuts, till (sesame), copra (dry coconut), rozelle leaves (sour spinach) and kairi (raw mango). It is the cooking style that makes all the difference. The Nawabi style of cooking, dum (slow cooking), cooking in Lagan (special Hyderabadi shallow vessel) to quote a few examples. The cooking is highly influenced by Persian style”, explains Executive Chef V Vijaya Baskaran.

Top specialities
Three of the top specialities of Hyderabad, Kachi gosht ki biryani, pathar ka gosht and haleem available on the menu are cooked to perfection in their true traditional style.

The speciality of Kachi  gosht ki biryani is that tender raw lamb and half cooked long grain rice are cooked together on dum. The lamb is marinated with herbs, spices and the half-cooked rice is carefully spread on the kachi gosht and cooked on slow fire till done. The process sounds simple, but it requires years of experience before one can achieve perfection.

Pathar ka gosht
Pathar ka gosht is made from thin slivers of lamb, which are first marinated in spices and grilled on a pathar (stone), preferably a volcanic rock. The stone gives slow heat to lamb and impart special soft texture to the dish. The dish originated from Persia. Haj pilgrims from Hyderabad learnt this dish from Persians and adapted the same using local spices.

Haleem is a porridge like combination of lamb, wheat and lentils. This dish, popular during the month of Ramzan for breaking fast, takes long time to prepare.

The dish is set to cook the whole day between sunrise and sunset. Legend has it that this dish was fed to soldiers as it was a complete meal by itself and could keep the soldier going on and on in the battlefield.

Dawat-e-Nizam, the Hyderabadi food festival is open for dinner in a quintessential Hyderabadi ambience — there is a replica of the famous Charminar, a panwala, a ghazal singer, a bangle seller and Hyderabadi pearl seller.