Hyderabad Best Wine and Dine.........

Thanks for the info. I am die-hard fan of our hyderabadi authentic biryani and i will sure visit banne-nawab's biryani@tolichowki as suggested by you.

I would not agree that Banne Nawab at Tolichowki serves even a decent biryani, forget, one of the best. The only good thing about Banne Nawab is the masalas (dry spices) that they sell.

Best biryani can be had at Shah Ghouse at Toli Chowki, Sarvi at Banjara Hills Road No. 1, Alpha at Secunderabad Railway Station and Bahar at Hyderguda, though, not in the same order.

Of course, biryani is a biryani only if it is a mutton and rice dish and variations with chicken or vegetables do not qualify as biryanis in so far as I am concerned.

I found Biryani at ''Sahib Sind Sultan''(city center ,Banjara hills)is excellent.

Sahib Sindh Sultan serves "Awadhi" aka "Lucknawi" type of biryani which is essentially a "pakki gosht ki biryani" while "Hyderabadi" biryani is "kachi gosht ki biryani".

In "pakki", the meat is cooked separate and rice separate. They are then assembled and given finishing touches before being served.

In "kachi", the raw meat and semi cooked rice are first assembled and then cooked together before being served.

Since in kachi type of cooking, the meat gets cooked in its own marinate along with rice under a "dum" (sealed cooking in which the cooking takes place in its own juices), the flavours seep into the rice much better and the rice also does not turn dry.

No wonder, the Hyderabadi biryani finds more fame than any other type.

When eating a biryani, check the white rice in it and that should be extremely juicy and not dry but the juiciness should not be due to heavy usage of oil or ghee.

The meat should be intact in pieces and should not have broken but it should also be so tender that on touching the same, it should crumble into smaller pieces.

The flavour in the biryani should be enhanced by the spices (like cloves, cardamom, black pepper, etc.) but the spices and the red or green chillies should not over power the taste and smell of the dish.

Basmati rice has its own unique flavour and that should not be lost on the person eating the biryani by usage of excess spices.

While at it, the difference between a biryani and a pulao is that no water is added for cooking biryani while pulao requires water to be added for cooking the rice.

I guess this is too much for an early morning on the first day of the work week so let me earn my living and dream of where to eat a biryani today for lunch.

Has anyone tried the Biranyi at 'Narmada Rasoi' in Hyderguda? on the way to cafe Bahar? if not you're missing out on some Yum Biryani! One of the best places for it.

traveller_from_hyd

wow!! I thank you for the expertise and the detailed diagnosis of our beloved Hyderabad biryani.Let me tell you i have learnt from you about the difference between between kachi and pakki biryani. i am from Hyderabad and i have survived on our Hyderabad for 5 years from Grand hotel near Nampalli railway station on kachi dum biryani(double dum ). One of my friend after spending a six months stint in Singapore ,after returning went straight to Grand hotel from airport to have his biryani at grand hotel .We were all that much addicted to Grand biryani in nampalli.WOW....those were Good old days.

Even in Dubai i have a Hyderabad guy called Mr.Yahya who serves me with my beloved authentic Hyderabad biryani so i am not missing much on that front.

i will be in secunderabad next week. Can any one give me input regarding best places to have veg andhra thali?

There are some great buffets that i have discovered. They are relatively easier on the wallet and have better vegetarian varieties

1. Ohris - Banjara Hills - Midnight Buffett - 500+ taxes - Its full of people usually, meaning the food is good. Not many options compared to others listed below. VEG AND NON VEG.

2. Ohris - White House - Begumpet - Evening Buffett - 299 + taxes - CHEAP!!! And only place with the best vegetarian options! Family ambience. All desserts are eggless. only two soup varieties. VEG ONLY

3. Bikanerwala - Evening Buffett - Kind of expensive but dont remember the exact cost - Nice place, perpetually crowded. The soup was out of this world. Desserts are run of the mill. Good Food! A bit expensive. VEG ONLY

4. Westin Midnight Buffett- Hitech City, Madhapur - 550 + taxes Recently started. Amazing ambience. Good Food. Very few options of rotis/breads available. Dessert has only one eggless option. All the rest are with egg.VEG AND NON-VEG

Novotel airport hotel restaurant named Haldi.

Food in "Haldi" (name) Indian cuisine restaurant was lovely, just as good as The Park Chennai, but cheaper, 699 for a menu with drink, soup, 2x non veg + 1x veg, rice, bread and dessert. Portions was 2 pieces of meat + "sauce". I got 5x bowls the size of my fist. Didnt try the other International cuisine restaurant.

Barbeque Nation has another outlet now in Jubilee hills. So those in Hi-tech city area needn't go to Banjara Hills. Like mentioned before, it serves awesome starters. Though it has more no. of options for non-vegetarians, it did have quite a few varieties for vegetarians like me. Weekend dinner buffet is around 700/- for non vegetarians.

Don't Miss the Bawarchi Biryani in Hyderabad... I know that now a days there are many Restaurants in hyderabad who are offering Delicious Biryani but Bawarchi Taste Stays Con-stent from the Beginning !