Aromas from a royal kitchen

The food of Hyderabad is deeply rooted in history, finds Phorum Dalal, as she offers a glimpse into this melting pot of a cuisine...

I last came to Hyderabad on a school trip in the fifth grade, and the echoes of the Sound and Light Show at Golconda Fort was my only memory. As I walk the lanes of Charminar, stopping at nameless eateries to have a cup of Irani chai — thick and creamy — dig into kebabs and nihari being stirred in big pots and served with pao, the first impression is the correct impression that the locals love their food. The falooda is dense and overly sweet, but I don’t mind it after the spicy banjara chicken.

Our sit-down meal has been under the expert serving of Chef Prabhakar Sannamanda of Siesta Hitech where he took us through the nuances of Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, a velvety mirch ka salan, and a sweet ending of khubani ka meetha, made from dried apricots soaked in sugar syrup.

Before our visit to the city, a friend had advised, “You must try the MLA dosa.” I’m not one to indulge in politics so the name of the dish doesn’t make my mouth water, but it makes me curious enough to ask around and learn that it’s a green gram masala dosa, which replaces potatoes with upma. “The name comes from the story that a cook in the MLA quarters canteen whipped up the dish for a VIP,” says Chef Prabhakar.

Taste of history

Shedding light on the cuisine, Sajjad Shahid, a heritage activist and city historian who teaches at the University of Hyderabad, jovially tells us, “Hyderabadis are epicureans and they like good food. Regionalism does not take the upper hand when it comes to food, as far as cuisine is concerned.”

He gives us an anecdote from the time when Germany was at its peak during the First World War. “When Bismarck, a conservative Prussian statesman, was having a meal with Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last emperor of Germany & King of Prussia, the conversation revolved around the greatness of Germany. The general shared his thoughts on how the country was best in technology and food. When it came to wine, Bismarck opined: ‘I beg to differ, your excellency, my patriotism falls short of my stomach.’ Hyderabadis are like this when it comes to food. Patriotism doesn’t come in the way of cuisine. So many cultures have influenced our food. Dishes from other countries have been adapted here, and transformed in such a way that the original dish cannot be recognised.”

The biryani has roots in Persia and came to India during the Mughal empire. “In Hyderabad, we make two versions of dum ki biryani — kachhe gosht ki biryani and pakke gosht ki biryani. Saffron is an important ingredient in both. Rice and mutton are layered alternately,” Chef Prabhakar explains.

No daawat (party) is complete without biryani. “In Hyderabad, the biryani went through a drastic change. The process of marination is different and it was traditionally cooked over charcoal. Now, people use red and green chillies, but that is not the original practice, as chillies didn’t exist in India until the Portuguese arrived,” says Shahid.

A little bit of everything

From the Arabs, Hyderabad got harissa and haleem. The dish appears to have evolved from khichda, an ancient dish made of grains and pulses. “The nobility of Hyderabad also had Arabs who came to India in the service of the Nizam. They were prominent nobles and soldiers. Their cuisine was absorbed into local cooking practices.”

From the French and British, we took the pudding and turned it into phirni and shahi tukda. Unrecognisable, right? Similarly, Turkish cuisine came via Afghanistan and Central Asia and brought along shami kebabs. “The matrimonial alliance of the two sons of the last Nizam with the daughter and niece of the last Khalifa of Turkey further enhanced the Turkish influence on Hyderabadi cuisine.

Hyderabadi cuisine is a continuously developing and evolving cuisine. The unique feature is the tradition of tandoor that is practised strongly till Bhopal and ends at Hyderabad. “It is the last stop you will get tandoor, which came to North India from Persia and Central Asia. Hyderabad is the only city where you will get roti as well as rice-eaters. Further south, the staple is rice. Hyderabad food, today, can be divided into two categories — one served at eateries and the other eaten at home. Did you know there is an unwritten law since the time of Nizams that no one will offer beef to guests,” says Shahid.

All said and done, Hyderabadi cuisine is sure to make your mouth water.

Dum ka Murg

Dum ka Murg

Ingredients: 200 gm chicken, 10 gm poppy seeds, 100 gm cashew nuts, 10 gm melon seeds, 100 ml curd, 100 ml refined oil, 10 gm fried onion, 5 gm ginger paste, 5 gm garlic paste, 5 gm haldi powder, 5 gm chili powder, 5 gm green chili, 5 gm mint leaves, 10 gm coriander leaves, 5 gm cinnamon, 5 gm green cardamom, 5 gm cloves, 25 gm coriander seeds, 25 gm cumin seeds, 2.5 gm nutmeg, 2.5 gm mace, 1 pc lemon, 5 gm salt, 5 gm whole wheat atta, 10 gm butter, 5 gm ghee.

Method: Add cashew nuts and chironji in a spice grinder and dry grind them to make a fine powder.
Take the ground nuts out of the grinder and put aside.
Now add cumin and coriander seeds and make a fine powder with them. Keep it aside.
In a large non-stick pan, add chicken, nut powder, curd, fried onion, ginger-garlic paste, chopped chilies, chopped mint and cilantro, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, shahi jeera, lemon juice, salt, vegetable oil and ghee in the pan. Mix well.
Leave the marinated chicken in the pan for at least 2 to 4 hours.
After 4 hours take the lid off the pan and seal it with the atta dough and put the pan on medium heat to cook the chicken for at least 35 to 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, turn off the heat but do not open the lid.
Leave the chicken as it is for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes cut the seal and open the lid. Serve hot.