HYDERABAD: Apart from the signature dishes like biryani and haleem, the Hyderabadi cuisine is also famous for its bakery items. These include the various types of cookies that are made in the innumerable bakeries the city is dotted with. While varieties like fruit biscuit, Chand biscuit and dum ka roat are popular, the most well-known of these is Osmania biscuit. The biscuit gets its name from the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who had been one of the biggest patrons of this round-shaped cookie.
What is special in this biscuit is the symphony of different tastes it is blended with. As you bite into the crunchy top, the sweet taste is predominant, but the underlying saltiness slowly balances it. The inherent buttery notes add to the overall flavours.
About 70 years ago, this biscuit, which was available at a Parsi outlet named Vicaji Hotel in Abids, became a favourite of the Seventh Nizam, who loved this sweet-cum-salty cookie with his tea. Soon, this became his standard offerings during casual conversations with his guests. Consequently, the hotel named this biscuit variety as Osmania. Another story goes that this biscuit was popular for its nutritional value among the patients of Osmania Hospital, and the cafes around the place started thriving on business they got from selling these. We do not really know what exactly the truth is, but surely the biscuits have caught the fancy of Hyderabad food lovers for over many decades now.
There is no fixed recipe for these biscuits as every bakery has its variation. Butter, milk powder, sugar, salt and flour are the main ingredients used. The dough is rolled into a huge and thick roti, and then moulds are used to cut the biscuits to shape. Finally, the round biscuits are baked in the oven. Ask any Hyderabadi, and he may name a different place as his favourite to enjoy these biscuits in the city. Karachi Bakery, with their branches and distribution channels as well as online presence, has taken this biscuit all over India and the world too.
In recent times, Osmania biscuits at Subhan Bakery, Nampally seem to be a huge local favourite. However, one place which is a must-visit for the experience is Nimrah Café and Bakery overlooking the iconic Charminar. Tourists and locals alike enjoy biscuits hot from their oven with Irani chai, while often taking photographs with Charminar in the background. Sabyasachi is a food enthusiast and blogs at www.foodaholix.in