Hyderabadi cuisine has a 400-year history legacy. It evolved in the kitchens of the Nizams, who elevated food to a sublime art form. Hyderabad cuisine is highly influenced by Mughals and partially by Arabic, Turkish and Irani food where rice, wheat and spices are widely used to great effect.
In the past, the food was called Ghizaayat. The cuisine is linked to
the nobles, who religiously maintain the authenticity of the past, and the
recipes are a closely guarded secret. The royal cooks are known as Khansamas, highly regarded by the
nobles. Shahi Dastarkhan is the
dining place, where food is served and eaten. A chowki is a low table, instead
of a dining table and cotton mattresses for squatting and bolsters for the back
rest. The Dastarkhan is revered in the noble household.The herbs and spices used in the dish as well as the method of preparation gives the dish its name. For example, Murgh do Pyaaza is named so because Onion ('Pyaaz') is added to the dish twice, in different variations.
On Formal occasions, the food is garnished with warq(a very fine, pure silver leaf created by prolonged hammering and flattening of a small piece of silver). A business delegation from Britain currently visiting India loved the Hyderabadi biryani they had here and are now keen to see some food joints from the city selling the royal rice preparation and other delicacies in London.
Like all the visitors to this historic city, the British businessmen could not resist the temptation of having the famous Hyderabadi biryani - made of finest variety of rice cooked with mutton or chicken along with generous mix of spices.
Sushmita Bhandari
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