Saturday 20 / April / 2024
When you visit the city of Hyderabad in India, while you soak up in its rich cultural heritage, sink your teeth into some of the delectable food that the city is known for. A combination of Arabic, Persian and Turkish food cultures, the traditional Hyderabadi cuisine is truly extravagant that goes far beyond their biryanis, kebabs, and haleem. Here are some signature recipes that will take you a step closer to the gourmet feast.
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BOOTE KA SAMOSA
Crispy samosas stuffed with green gram is a specialty of the Hyderabadi cuisine that serves as a delightful snack.
Ingredients
For the samosa crust:
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Cold water to knead
Stuffing:
• 3 cups green gram (moong dal)-soaked in water for 3-4 hours
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 teaspoons garam masala
• 2 teaspoons red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• Salt to taste
Preparation
For the stuffing:
• Grind the lentils coarsely. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the lentils and the rest of the ingredients. Sauté over low heat till the ingredients are well combined as it will stop sticking to the pan when done. Switch off the flame and leave the mix to cool before stuffing the same in to the samosa pastry.
For the samosa:
• Add water, salt and oil to the flour and knead into a stiff dough. Leave to rest for 20 mins. Shape dough into smooth balls, and roll the balls into thin rounds. Cut these into halves. Take one half, wet the edges, and fold to form a cone. Press the overlapping portion, and fill the green gram mix in to the cone and press the edges together to seal. Heat oil, drop the samosas to deep fry and lower the temperature of the oil to ensure that the samosas are browned well on both sides and do not burn. Serve hot with mint coriander chutney.
MIRCH KA SALAN
A delicious side dish for any kind of biryani. One of the most popular salan recipes from the Hyderabadi cuisine made with mirchi/chillies.
Ingredients
For the masala:
• 1 tablespoon dry coconut
• 1 tablespoon peanuts
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 medium sized onion thickly chopped
• 4 tablespoons oil
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon onion seeds
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 12 green chillies (long)
• 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon tamarind dissolved in 1/3 cup hot water
• 1 tomato cut into two halves
Preparation
Heat a pan and dry roast each of them separately that is coconut, peanuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and coriander seeds. In the same pan add sliced onions, spread some oil and roast for about two minutes. Allow all the ingredients to cool, add all the ingredients in a blender and blend them into a fine paste. To the paste add salt, turmeric powder and keep it aside. In a pan, add oil and heat it, add onion seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and let them crackle, add the green chillies, cover the lid and cook for about five minutes. Lift up the lid, stir and cook for another five minutes. Remove the chillies from the oil and put them aside. Add ginger garlic paste into the tempered cooking pot, stir for few minutes, add the masala paste which was blended. Cook until oil appears at the sides or corners. Add the tamarind extracted pulp, stir well. Add one sliced tomato and a little water if required, check salt. Add the fried green chillies into the curry and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. The curry should cook well and when oil starts appearing switch off the flame. Serve in a bowl. Serve it with biryani or roti.
SHIKAMPURI KEBAB
Melt in the mouth Shikampuri Kebabs stuffed with hung curd and flavoured with aromatic spices is a delicious appetiser from the kitchens of the Nizams.
Ingredients
• 500g mutton boneless, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup chana dal / bengal gram soaked for 30 minutes
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 teaspoons red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic chopped
• 1 egg
• Oil for frying
For the filling:
• 2 cups of hung curd/ Greek yoghurt
• 2 onions finely minced
• 5 green chillies finely minced
• 3 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped
Preparation
• Take a pan, add the mutton, chana dal, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger, garlic, and add 2 cups of water. Cook till the mutton is done and the dal is soft and mushy. Allow to cool and grind it to make a fine paste. Add egg and mix well. Set aside.
For the filling
• Mix the yoghurt with finely minced onion, salt, green chilli and coriander leaves. Take a ball of the kebab paste. Flatten it between your palms like a disc, place a small filling of yoghurt. Close the edges of the disc and cover up the filling with more kebab paste. The kebabs would resemble a patty now. Shallow fry on medium heat till both the sides are brown.
DUM KA MURGH
Succulent chicken pieces adorn this velvety and creamy curry from the land of the Nawabs that is slow cooked (dum) to perfection.
Ingredients
To marinate:
• 1.5kg chicken
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For gravy
• 3, large, divided onions
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 8-10 cloves, garlic large
• 1-2 green chillies
• Oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1” stick cinnamon
• 3 green cardamoms
• 3 cloves
• A small piece of mace
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 12, powdered cashew nuts
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons, chopped coriander leaves
Preparation
• Marinate the chicken pieces with the ingredients mentioned above and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Blend 2 onions to a fine paste and set aside. Also, make a fine paste of ginger, garlic, and chillies and set aside. Thinly slice the remaining onion and fry it in 3-4 tablespoons oil till golden brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Heat rest of the oil in a large thick-bottomed pan. Add whole spices like bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and mace. Now add the onion paste and sauté on medium heat till thick and light golden, 15-20 minutes. Now add ginger-garlic-chilli paste and sauté for a minute till its rawness disappears. Add the fried onion slices (reserving 1 tablespoon for garnish) and tomato puree. Mix well, stir and cook till you see the oil starting to separate at the sides. Now add the marinated chicken and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Add the powdered cashewnuts and stir well to combine. Add a cup of water. Cover and cook on low till chicken is tender, around 30 minutes. Open lid and reduce gravy further if desired. Ideally, the gravy should have a thick texture. Garnish the chicken curry with the reserved fried onions and coriander leaves. Serve with roti or rice.
HYDERBADI DUM MUTTON BIRYANI (Kache gosht ki biryani)
This regal dish needs no introduction at all. Straight from the land of the Nizams, this aromatic rice dish is a must have at all celebrations, weddings or even at your humble home.
Ingredients
For the biryani spice powder:
• 5 green cardamoms
• 3 (1 inch ) sticks cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 cloves
• 1 teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
For marination
• 1 kg meat/lamb
• 1 cup fried onions
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
• 2-3 green chillies
• 2 tablespoons red chilli powder
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 3/4 cup chopped mint leaves
• Biryani spice powder
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup cooking oil or 1/2 cup ghee
• Salt
For Rice
• 4 cups of basmati rice
• 1 bay leaf
• Big stick of cinnamon
• 3 to 4 cardamoms
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons oil
For Dum Cooking
• 1/2 cup fried onions
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup milk with yellow food colour
• 1 teaspoon kewra /rose essence
• Few strands of saffron
• 1 tablespoon shahi jeera
Preparation
Clean and cut the meat into medium size pieces. Chop 3 large onions into thin slices and deep fry. Drain on an absorbent kitchen roll. Heat a pan and dry roast the biryani spices and grind to a fine powder. Wash the rice and soak for 30 minutes. Make a dough with wheat flour and water, to seal the edges of the vessel. In a large bowl marinate the meat pieces with ingredients mentioned for minimum 2 hrs. Keep a large vessel with enough water to cook 4 cups of rice. When the water starts to boil add salt, 1 bay leaf, 1 big stick of cinnamon, 3 to 4 cardamoms, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 4 tablespoons oil. Add the soaked rice to the water and cook till 70% done. The rice should be firm as it has to be again cooked on dum for 1 hour. Once the rice is cooked, sieve it in a colander and drain all the water. In a large vessel place the marinated meat as first layer. Spread half of the cooked rice over the meat and drizzle half of milk, half of fried onion (a handful), half of chopped coriander, half of shahi jeera. Repeat with remaining cooked rice and dum ingredients. Place the lid and seal the edges with dough. For first 10 minutes cook on medium high heat. Then reduce the flame on low and cook for 50 minutes. Switch off the gas and let the biryani sit for another 10 to 15 minutes before opening the lid. Remove the dough and serve the biryani hot with raita and mirch ka salan.
HYDERABADI QUBANI KA MEETHA
It is a delectable, sweet Hyderabadi delicacy that is made from apricots and is a traditional dessert served at weddings or gatherings.
Ingredients
• 250g apricots/qubani (about 25 to 28)
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1tablespoon lemon juice
• Vanilla flavoured ice cream/any flavoured ice cream or custard
• Almond slivers as garnish
Preparation
• Wash the apricots and soak in water to come upto about 2” above for 4-5 hours. De-seed the apricots, chop and place in a pan along with the water, sugar and lemon juice. Cook the apricots on low flame until they are soft and mushy. Mash the cooked apricots. Add sugar and cook until sugar dissolves fully. Keep stirring in between. Switch off the flame. Serve the dessert in a bowl topped with ice cream or custard.
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