Aura of India: Hyderabadi Biryani: How It Is Cooked, Served and Ordered

Chicken biryani in a copper handi with a bowl of raita

Photo: Dheerajk88, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

A biryani house in Hyderabad, at lunch.

It arrives sealed. The lid comes off at the table.

What comes to the table

Hyderabadi biryani is rice and meat cooked together in one pot. Long-grain basmati rice, half cooked, is layered over mutton or chicken that has marinated in yoghurt, spices, fried onion and mint. Saffron milk goes on top. The pot is sealed with dough and cooked slowly over low heat, a method called dum. When it opens, the grains should be separate, some white and some golden, and the meat should taste of the same spice as the rice.

How it is eaten

Two sides come with it. Mirchi ka salan is a curry of long green chillies in a sauce of peanuts, sesame and tamarind. Raita is yoghurt with onion. Spoon both over the rice. Many people eat with the right hand, others with a spoon, and nobody minds which. A full plate is often shared. Afterwards comes double ka meetha, a bread pudding soaked in milk and syrup.

Why people travel for it

Biryani came to India with the Mughals and took a different shape in every court. In Hyderabad, the kitchens of the Nizams made it rich and slow, and the city has argued about it ever since: which house, which cut, whether potato belongs (here, usually not). For many Indians a trip to Hyderabad is not finished without one plate. Visitors from abroad often find it the dish that shows how Indian cooking uses spice for fragrance, not only heat.

Where to find one

Biryani houses are spread across the city, from the old quarter to the newer districts, and every Hyderabadi has a favourite. Go at lunch, when the biggest pots are opened fresh. Look for places that cook in large pots within sight of the street. Vegetarian and egg versions exist, but the classic is kacchi gosht biryani, where the mutton goes into the pot raw and cooks with the rice.

Kacchi and pakki

Hyderabad cooks biryani two ways. In kacchi biryani, the classic, raw meat goes into the bottom of the pot after a long marinade in yoghurt, chilli, ginger, garlic and fried onion. Rice that is only partly cooked is layered over it, and the two finish together under the sealed lid. The timing is everything: the meat must be tender just as the rice is done. It is the harder method, and the one Hyderabadis argue about.

In pakki biryani the meat is cooked first, as a rich gravy, then layered with the rice and finished on dum. It is more forgiving and more common in quick kitchens and at home. Both are Hyderabadi. Ask which one a place makes; the answer says something about the kitchen.

Beyond the biryani

The same kitchens have other dishes worth a second meal. Haleem, a slow-cooked stew of wheat, lentils and meat, is the food of Ramzan evenings, sold from large pots across the old city after sunset. Bagara baingan, small aubergines in a peanut and sesame sauce, is a cousin of the salan.

Between meals there is Irani chai, strong and milky, with Osmania biscuits, soft and slightly sweet, said to have come out of the kitchens of the Nizams. Qubani ka meetha, a dessert of stewed dried apricots, is the other classic way to end a biryani meal, often served with cream.

At the table

Order a full plate to share, or a single for one. Portions are large.
Ask for more salan. It usually comes free.
Mutton is the classic. Chicken is lighter.
Go at lunch. Late in the evening the best pots may be finished.

Watch the lid come off. The steam is the first taste.

Plan your visit

Where to eat it	Across Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana: the old city south of the Musi around the Charminar, the older central districts around Abids, Nampally and Secunderabad, and the newer districts in the west of the city.
Price guide	Prices are on the board by the counter; mutton costs more than chicken, and a full plate is meant to share. Check before you order, as prices vary a lot between a street-side house and a restaurant.
When it is served	From lunch, when the biggest pots are opened, through dinner. In Ramzan, haleem takes over the evenings.
Try it with	Mirchi ka salan and raita on the side; double ka meetha or qubani ka meetha afterwards; Irani chai to finish.

Open Charminar, Hyderabad, Telangana in Google Maps

Questions people ask

What is the difference between kacchi and pakki biryani?

In kacchi biryani the meat goes into the pot raw and cooks with the rice under the sealed lid. In pakki biryani the meat is cooked first and only finished with the rice.

Is Hyderabadi biryani very spicy?

It is fragrant more than fiery, with heat from green chilli in the marinade. The mirchi ka salan on the side is the hotter part; take it a spoon at a time.

Is there a vegetarian Hyderabadi biryani?

Yes. Most biryani houses make a vegetable or paneer version, and egg biryani is common too, but the classic is mutton.

What is the best time to eat biryani in Hyderabad?

Lunch, when the large pots are opened fresh. By late evening the best pots may be finished.

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Hyderabadi Biryani: How It Is Cooked, Served and Ordered