Hyderabadi Biryani and Street Food Walk

Hyderabadi biryani is one of the great dishes of Indian cooking, and a food walk is the most rewarding way to meet it. The Hyderabadi style is traditionally cooked dum, sealed in a pot with layers of rice and marinated meat and cooked slowly so the steam carries the flavour through. In the kacchi version, raw marinated meat is cooked together with the rice, while in the pakki version the meat is cooked first, and the rice is flavoured with saffron, fried onions, mint and spices. A walk led by a local guide explains these distinctions and takes you to places where the dish is made well, rather than leaving you to choose among hundreds of restaurants with the same sign. The tour linked here is an evening street food walk with Hyderabad biryani, and it covers more than one dish. Typical stops in the Old City include kebabs and shikampuri, thick lentil and meat cutlets, crisp fried snacks, rich curries such as mirchi ka salan and bagara baingan that are served with biryani, and desserts like double ka meetha, a bread pudding, and khubani ka meetha made from apricots. A cup of the local milky Irani chai with an osmania biscuit finishes things off. During Ramadan the stalls around Charminar fill with haleem, a slow-cooked meat and wheat porridge that is a seasonal speciality.

The walk is as much a way of seeing the neighbourhood as of eating. Evening is when the lanes come alive, the cooks fire up their grills and the cafes fill with regulars, and a guide takes you through the bazaars to the places locals actually go. You will learn what to order, how to eat it and which places are clean and busy enough to be safe. Portions are generally sampling sizes so that you can try many things, and the tour is usually paced to leave you comfortably full rather than uncomfortably stuffed.

Dietary needs should be raised in advance. Hyderabadi cuisine is heavy on meat, particularly mutton and chicken, and a walk centred on biryani and kebabs will be challenging for vegetarians, although the city has many vegetarian dishes, and some operators can adapt the route. Spice levels vary, and the food is often richer than visitors expect, so pace yourself and drink bottled water. If you have allergies or an unsettled stomach, discuss with your guide and choose foods that are freshly cooked and served hot.

A few tips improve the experience. Come hungry, wear comfortable shoes and bring hand sanitiser and tissues. Arrive early at the meeting point, since evening traffic can be heavy, and consider combining the walk with an afternoon at Charminar and Laad Bazaar. If you want to continue your biryani research, ask your guide for recommendations of restaurants to try for lunch on another day, and consider a cooking class for the recipes.

Visitors who love food will find this walk one of the highlights of a trip, and it is a very good introduction for anyone who is shy about eating in the street.

It also helps to know what makes the local tea special. Irani chai is brewed strong, simmered with milk and served very sweet in small cups, and the osmania biscuit that goes with it is a salty-sweet shortbread that was invented in Hyderabad. Dipping the biscuit in the tea is the classic move and a gentle way to end a rich meal.