Meaty Affair in Hyderabad!
With a stimulating aura of heritage and amiability in every street, Hyderabad is popular for being a prime culinary hub, offering some of the most mouth-watering delicacies one can find in India. In the month of Ramadan, the city reaches its peak charm with streets bustling with festivities and a tempting variety of seasonal food to locals, as well as the huge influx of tourists at this time. Food is a celebration here and we can only hope that you find yourself in Hyderabad, especially during Ramadan someday!
Haleem
Haleem originated as a high calorie dish for the Iftar period for those who fast all day, and for them to break their fast with something that would replenish them with nutrients to regain their lost strength. Eventually, the dish became popular with non-fasters as well and during Ramadan, people pour in 24x7 to get a piping plate of Haleem. The key to make a perfect plate of Haleem lies in two steps: firstly, in the uniform beating of meat and wheat, in the right proportions and secondly, balancing the three dominant spices, that are, peppercorns, clove and cinnamon. While we’re sure you’ll find this meaty-treaty in every street during Ramadan, here’s two ‘must-try’ ones:
Lucky Restaurant
This place serves a very traditional Irani-style Haleem, a perfectly textured and meaty one at that!
Pista House
With a huge makeshift kitchen set-up, they’re the most ace of all in the Haleem business. The preparation is joyfully overwhelming to witness. An insane amount of human strength goes into the long hours of pounding the ingredients in the huge cauldrons, for you to have that velvety plate of Haleem!
Biryani
What can POSSIBLY make biryani sound even more appealing? Prefixing biryani with ‘Hyderabadi’! Be it the preparation style, taste palette or the mesmerizing aroma, nothing comes even close to the Hyderabadi Biryani. For centuries, Biryani has been a hallmark dish, borrowing elements of Turkish, Mughlai and Arabic flavors.
Lucky Biryani
Apart from the Ramadan-special Haleem, you can hit this place for some mouth-watering Kachi Gost Ki Biryani and Nalli Biryani all year long. The cultivated skill and experience that goes behind the plate of biryani presented to you is almost palpable, right in the first bite! Don’t forget to wrap up this gastronomical experience with an indigenous sweet dish called khubani ka meetha!
Bawarchi Restaurant
This spot has earned a name for its version of chicken biryani. And well, it’s worth the hype! What sets their biryani apart from the rest, is their constructive use of shah jeera flavor in it. But what meal is fully complete without catering to our sweet tooth! Don’t miss out on their special kaddu ki kheer at the end.
Mandi
Don’t be mistaken that the meaty wonders of Hyderabad don’t end at biryani! Brace yourself for a majestic Yemeni delight, called Mandi, for this is a phenomenal preparation of rice and meat that you probably wouldn’t have had anywhere. This Arab-origin dish is cooked in a distinctive manner, wherein the rice is cooked in the flavorful meat stock and then separately topped with the meat.
Yum Yum Tree Restaurant
Experience this delicacy in the most traditional way possible at Yum Yum Tree restaurant, by sitting around the delicacy served on a low-level. This generous serving or aromatic rice, topped with chunks of mutton, a roasted chicken leg and fish fillet will be more than sufficient to satiate at least 3-4 people. The garnish of fried onions, nuts, cucumbers and coriander was the cherry on the literal top! Along with this, there’s feastful sides of chicken curry, salan and tomato chutney. For desserts, enjoy a plate of traditional, middle-eastern semolina cake called basbousa or, their paan with a twist, made with oreos!
