A short affair with Hyderabadi cuisine

Ok let me be frank. The object of this whole write up on Hyderabad was just to write about the food. Everyone knows I am a food freak, but still to keep up appearances, I wrote about the actual Hyderabad trip first. Anyway having got that off my back, let me plunge into the details :)

This trip was a gastronomical delight. I will not say anything further. Just check this out.

Breakfast at Minerva Coffee House, Somajiguda Circle : I had something called MLA Pesarattu. Pesarattu is a dosa which is made of Green gram(Moong dal). It is very nutritious and tasty. This MLA pesarattu is a variation. The pesarattu is folded like a Masala dosa, and instead of the potato curry in the middle, there is Uppittu! (Upma). It is a strange combination, but it is deadly! And along with it, the spicy chutneys and chutney-powder.. mmmmm ..... And in this place, the standard coconut chutney and sambar were so good, that after I finished the pesarattu, I took a spoon and ate the chutney and sambar just like that, which I never do! I topped this off with fantastic coffee.

Irani chai: Very different. Liked it? I think so :)

The wedding spread: There was chaat, Italian, Chinese, Thai, North Indian, South Indian, icecreams and Paan. Everything was very tasty, but the chaat deserves a mention. There was pani puri, bhelpuri, alu tikki with channa, and ... here it comes... Tava Sweet. Now this was totally new to me!

This guy has this hot sizzling tava. He puts a little of petha, rasagollas, badam barfi, sweet vermicelli, khova(mewa), then some more miscellaneous sweets, then adds some nuts, and then heats it all with rabdi/badam milk. Then he serves it sizzling hot in a cup. I went totally nuts over it. I lost count of how much I ate. Like one of the guys was saying, next time after Diwali, take all the leftover sweets, mash them up, heat them on the tava, pour some badam milk and eat. :)

Hotel Paradise, Secunderabad:
Lunch the next day. Biryani at Paradise Persis, Secunderabad. Now before you ask, I am a vegetarian, and I KNOW that the specialty is non-veg biryani, and since I do NOT eat non-veg, please do not say "Oh you don't know what you are missing!" :)Anyway I ate this really yummy Alu Biryani and Egg Biryani. It was so different... the "biryani" I am familiar with is all spice and oil and it totally coats your tongue and leaves you panting. But this was so good... delicately flavoured... a treat to the palate. I found only recipes of meat biryanis on the web... can anybody please guide me to a good veg biryani recipe?

Now comes the piece de resistance -Khubani ka Meetha . This is a sweet dish made of stewed apricots - a Hyderabadi special. If my tummy was not bursting with biryani, I would have finished off all the Khubani ka meetha in the restaurant. Each spoonful took me to paradise (pun not intended). I can still taste it.... The luscious pulp of the fruit, the exotic fragrance... sigh!

Also worth a mention is Venkateshwara coffee house in Lakdikapul, near the hotel where we stayed. It makes some delicious breakfast. And the most wonderful Badam Milk ever.

One of the guys was going on and on about all the other places we did not visit and all the other stuff we did not taste. I have only one thing to say to Hyderabad - I'll be Back.