When we ordered a mutton biryani at the Shadab restaurant – ‘delight in every bite!’ – in Hyderabad, all I could see was a piebald pyramid of rice heading our way on a silver platter.
But, then, the ingredients became visible: lushly perfumed chunks of mutton, with a kaleidoscopic range of flavours – roasted onions, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cumin seeds among them – served with a side dish called mirchi ka salan, a chilli and peanut curry mix.
No one knows the origin of biryani, but it is assumed to have arrived with the conquering Moghuls from Central Asia, where it was then refined in the Muslim kingdoms of Lucknow in northern India and Hyderabad in southern India.
There are animated debates about which offers the best version, with Hyderabad usually winning the argument.
Food historian Jonty Rajagopalan believes ‘the secret is in the marination of the meat’.
A star of India: Bruce Palling travels to Hyderabad (pictured) in southern India and discovers some of its best biryani joints
Bruce visits Hyderabad’s Falaknuma Palace (pictured), which serves biryani at its flagship restaurant
The next important thing is how the meat – usually mutton – is spiced and layered between the rice.
Both are cooked together, sometimes with the skin of green papaya added to tenderise it.
We started with some of the more aristocratic versions of biryani.
This requires a short trip to Falaknuma Palace, a vast classical mansion on a rocky citadel overlooking Hyderabad.
It’s a former palace of the Nizam – the region’s ruler until Indian independence who was, at one point, considered to be the richest person on earth.
Food historian Jonty Rajagopalan believes ‘the secret’ to making the best biryani ‘is in the marination of the meat’. Pictured: Charminar in Hyderabad, the region said to serve the best
‘No one knows the origin of biryani, but it is assumed to have arrived with the conquering Moghuls from Central Asia,’ writes Bruce (file image)
In its flagship restaurant, each biryani comes in its own circular silver container with a chapati-like top as tight as a drumskin sealed along the edges with dough.
Once broken, there’s a release of spices and aromas of mutton.
The most popular chain of biryani restaurants in Hyderabad is Paradise – ‘world’s favourite biryani’ – with nearly 30 outlets.
The main branch, near Hyderabad’s Sunshine Hospital, has posters of famous Indian personalities on the walls, including cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
Some claim that the Paradise biryani is too spicy to qualify as authentic. But it’s excellent value for little more than £3.
Even lower down the culinary pecking order, the curiously named Saddam Hotel Restaurant ladles out hundreds of biryani dishes daily from huge steaming pots for little more than 50p a plate.
Paradise is the most popular chain of biryani restaurants in Hyderabad. Bruce dines at the main branch (pictured) near Hyderabad’s Sunshine Hospital
Above, the posters of famous Indian personalities on the walls at Paradise’s main location
Then we headed for the fabled Shadab, where some 200 people were seated in padded leatherette booths with whirring fans above.
All were searching for bite-sized portions of mutton, wrapping it around the rice and eating it with their fingers.
I realised after my first mouthful that my search for the perfect biryani was over. This was it.
