KOCHI: There is something a friend’s grandmother in Malabar once told me about biryani. The most irresistible thing about the dish is its fragrance. This was the first thing I thought of, as I took a mouthful of Ms Dilnaz Baig’s ecstatic chicken biriyani. She was in the city for the Royal Iftar Feast at Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty’s Malabar Cafe.
Dilnaz hails from Hyderabad, the land of the best biryanis. A connoisseur of Hyderabadi cuisine, she comes with culinary wisdom that chronicles the history of Nizams. She hosts a home-dining experience, Dastarkhwan-e-Naz, at her beautiful home in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad to serve traditional home-cooked delicacies in old-style chowki seating.
Hyderabadi Biryani, Shikampur, Diwani Handi, Haleem, Sheermal, Bot ka Halwa and Qubani ka Meetha are some of her signature delectables. We caught up with her about her iftar experience in Kochi, Hyderabad, and Kerala share a mutual love for Biryanis. What makes its preparation truly special?
I liked the Kerala style Biriyani. I may sound a little biased, but I don’t think any other biriyani can beat Hyderabadi biryani. It is the best. The difference between Kerala-style biryani and Hyderabadi style biryani is the use of basmati rice. We also marinate the meat with ginger, garlic, garam masala and caramelised onion. The Hyderabadi biryani is influenced by Iranian cuisine. It also has Vijayanagar and South Indian culinary influences. Most Kerala cuisine, including Malabar delicacies, are influenced by the Arabic style.
Tell us more about the desserts you have on the menu – especially the Bot Ka Halwa and Qubani Ka Meetha We have some amazing desserts including Bot Ka Halwa, Qubbani Ka Meetha, Double Ka Meetha and Falooda. Qubani Ka Meetha is very Iranian because of the use of apricots. It is one of the healthiest desserts. It is fibre rich and doesn’t have high cholesterol content. Bot Ka Halwa takes hours to make. It is called bot because of the sweet boondis.
What are the spices most prominent in Hyderabadi dishes? What are your favourite Kerala spices?
For home cooks like me, four spices are vital adrak, lehsun, mirchi, haldi (ginger, garlic, chili and turmeric). This goes for most of the dishes in Hyderabad. People also add garam masalas and poppy seeds and cashews. We don’t usually use star anise in our garam masala. I have seen Keralites using this spice more often. I returned to Hyderabad with a whole bag of spices from the state including cardamom, cloves, pepper and nutmeg from state.
Q4: Dishes like Haleem are quite new to Kochiites. How was the feedback?
Haleem is a very Hyderabadi dish and is very hard to cook. It was very well accepted by Malayalis. We were busy arranging for deliveries, takeaways and dine-ins.