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Hyderabadi cuisine facts for kids

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Hyderabadi cuisine is the special cooking style from Hyderabad, a city in Telangana, India. This amazing food tradition started a long time ago, especially after the Bahmani Sultanate was formed. Later, the Qutb Shahi rulers and then the Nizams of Hyderabad helped it grow even more, making it a royal and famous way of cooking.

Hyderabadi cuisine is a mix of many different food styles. It combines tastes from South Asia, Mughal, Turkish, and Arabic cooking. It also uses ideas from local Telangana and Marathwada foods. You'll find lots of dishes made with rice, wheat, and meat. Chefs use many different spices, herbs, and natural ingredients to create unique flavors.

This cuisine has special recipes for different events. There's food for big parties and weddings, special dishes for festivals, and even food that's easy to take when you travel. The type of recipe tells you how long it takes to cook and how long it will stay fresh.

A Look at History

How Hyderabadi Food Began

The Deccan region is an area in India that's not near the coast. Local food was popular here for a long time. But when Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate moved his capital to Daulatabad, new foreign foods came to the Deccan. In the 14th century, when the Bahmani Sultanate was formed, Turkish nobles introduced their own Turkish cuisine.

Over two centuries, many people moved to the Deccan region. This brought even more different cooking styles from other places, mixing them with the local food.

Food in Medieval Times

During medieval times in the Deccan, big feasts called Dastarkhān were common, especially among rich families. A long cloth was spread on the floor, and many dishes were placed on it. People usually ate with their hands. Most of the food was meat-based, often grilled or fried in a tandoor (a special oven). Curries were very spicy and full of flavor. After the main meal, people often ate fruits instead of sweet desserts. Then, they would drink Kahwa, a hot drink that helped with digestion. The ingredients used changed with the seasons and festivals. Many foods were also preserved as pickles.

Modern Hyderabadi Cuisine

The modern Hyderabadi cuisine really grew and became an art form during the time of the Nizams in the mid-17th century. Hyderabad has always welcomed people from all over the world, especially after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Many foreign dishes were changed and improved to fit the local tastes, creating unique new foods that were even better than the originals.

For example, Hyderabadi Biryani and Hyderabadi Haleem are famous all over India, but the Hyderabadi versions are the most well-known. Dishes like Til ke chatuni (with Arabic tahini) and Persian dried lamb with beans were changed to dalcha. Even Uzbek tandoori naan became Sheermal. Most of the desserts we see in Hyderabadi cuisine today were created during the Nizams' rule and are now a big part of the food culture.

Hyderabadi cuisine is also a key part of the food from the old Hyderabad State. This includes Telangana and parts of Maharashtra (Marathwada) and Karnataka (Kalyana-Karanataka). Each city has its own special dishes. For example, Hyderabad is famous for Hyderabadi Biryani and Hyderabadi Haleem. Aurangabad has Naan Qalia, Parbhani has its own Biryani and Tahari, and Bidar is known for Kalyani Biryani. What makes Hyderabadi cuisine different from North Indian cuisine is its use of dry coconut, tamarind, and red chilies, along with other spices.

A Traditional Meal (Dastarkhwan)

A traditional Hyderabadi dinner, called Dastarkhwan, usually has five parts:

  • Aghaz: This is the first course, usually a Soup.
  • Mezban: These are appetizers or small dishes to start.
  • Waqfa: A break with a refreshing sorbet.
  • Mashgool Dastarkhwan: The Main course with the main dishes.
  • Zauq-e-shahi: The delicious dessert to finish the meal.

Tasty Starters

Lukhmi

Lukhmi is a savory snack, a bit like a samosa, but it's shaped into a flat square patty. It's made from flour and filled with minced mutton or beef, called kheema. People eat it as an evening snack or serve it as a starter at parties.

Murtabak

Murtabak is a spicy, folded pancake that often has eggs and bits of vegetables inside. It's usually an egg-filled pancake, sometimes mixed with green onions and minced meat. It's made from pan-fried crepes that are folded and cut into squares.

Hyderabadi Haleem

Hyderabadi Haleem is a very popular dish in Hyderabad. It's a thick stew made with mutton, lentils, spices, and wheat. It came from a similar Arab dish called Harees, brought to Hyderabad by Arab travelers. Harees is still made in its original form in Barkas. Hyderabadi Haleem is sometimes served as a starter, but it's most famous for being eaten during the holy month of Ramadan for the Iftar meal (the meal to break the fast).

Main Dishes

Hyderabadi Biryani

Hyderabadi Biryani is one of the most famous dishes from Hyderabad. It's special and different from other types of Biryani. It was first made in the kitchens of the Nizams of Hyderabad. It's a celebratory dish made with fragrant basmati rice and mutton, along with yogurt, onions, and many different spices. This dish is so important that it's almost a symbol of the city of Hyderabad itself!

Biryani Variations

  • Kalyani Biryani is a type of Hyderabadi Biryani that uses beef instead of lamb or mutton. This dish started when the Kalyani Nawabs of Bidar came to Hyderabad in the 18th century. Kalyani biryani is made with small cubes of beef, regular spices, onions, and lots of tomatoes. It has a special taste of tomato, jeera (cumin), and dhania (coriander).
  • Tahari, made by Hyderabadi Muslims, is another rice and meat dish. Unlike biryani, where the rice is partly cooked separately and then layered with meat, in tahari, the rice is cooked directly with the meat. Sometimes vegetables, especially potatoes, are also added. It's often served with dahi ki chutney (yogurt sauce).

Other Delicious Dishes

Pathar-ka-Gosht

Pathar ka Gosht is a mutton kebab. Its name means "stone meat" because it's traditionally cooked on a hot stone slab.

Hyderabadi Khichdi

The Hyderabadi version of Khichdi is different from the many other types found across India. It's often eaten with Kheema (minced mutton curry). People enjoy it for breakfast or during the month of Ramadan for the Sehri meal (the meal before starting the fast).

While most khichdi preparations use toor or moong dal, the Hyderabadi version uses masoor dal. Also, turmeric doesn’t feature in the ingredients list although some people use it in the modern preparations. The colouring of the dish comes from the caramelized onions that are an important flavour of the dish. As opposed to the semi-liquid, moist preparation of khichdi elsewhere in the country, the dish made here has a drier texture, and each grain of rice stands out.

—Nawab Mehboob Alam Khan, culinary expert

Talawa Gosht

Tala hua Gosht, or Talawa Gosht in the Hyderabadi way of speaking, is a simple mutton or beef dish. It's usually served with Khatti Dal (sour lentil soup). You can eat it with Roti (flatbread) or rice.

Sweet Desserts

  • Qubani ka meetha (Khubani-ka-Meetha) - A delicious Apricot Pudding. It's often topped with almonds and cream. The original recipe is a clear, liquid-like dessert.
  • Double ka meetha - This is a Bread Pudding topped with dry fruits. It's a version of the Mughal dessert called Shahi tukre.
  • Sheer korma - A Vermicelli pudding and a special dessert, especially made on the day of Ramzan (Eid Ul Fitr) celebrations.
  • Firni - A creamy rice dessert.
  • Gil-e-Firdaus - A type of Kheer made from bottle gourd. Its name means "the clay of paradise."
  • Faluda - A cool dessert made of thin vermicelli noodles with rose syrup and milk.
  • Aab ka shola (Aab shola) - A typical Hyderabadi summer sharbat (sweet drink).
  • Hyderabadi Irani tea is available at Irani cafes, often served with Osmania Biscuits.

Breads

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