Murgh Hyderabadi Biryani

Hyderabadi Biryani: A Legacy of Royal Flavors

Hyderabad is a paradise for biryani lovers, offering countless varieties, each with its own unique personality, flavor profile, and cooking style. Over time, I’ve explored and recreated many different styles of Hyderabadi biryanis — and what always amazes me is how no two are ever truly the same.

Each version tells a story.

What makes Hyderabadi cuisine so special is the deep influence of the Nizams. Their legacy isn’t just reflected in grand palaces or exquisite jewels, but also in the richness of their food. Every dish feels like a glimpse into a time when hospitality was an art, and food was its grandest expression.

The legendary dastarkhaan of the Nizams was nothing short of spectacular — a lavish spread filled with aromatic biryanis, slow-cooked curries, indulgent haleem, and an array of desserts enriched with dry fruits and cooked in pure ghee. It’s a cuisine built on generosity, detail, and a deep love for flavors.

This particular biryani is a beautiful representation of that heritage — rich, fragrant, yet surprisingly approachable.

What Makes This Biryani Special

Unlike overly spicy versions, this biryani focuses more on depth than heat. The base includes a luxurious paste made with poppy seeds, cashews, and coconut, giving it a creamy texture and a subtle richness that coats every grain of rice.

The heat comes from a green chili paste, which adds a fresh, vibrant kick without overpowering the dish. If you enjoy a spicier profile, you can easily adjust the number of chilies to suit your taste.

A touch of kewra essence paired with a hint of food color elevates the aroma, giving the biryani that signature royal fragrance — the kind that instantly fills your kitchen and makes the dish feel festive and indulgent.

Simple Yet Elegant

Despite its royal roots, this biryani is surprisingly beginner-friendly. The steps are straightforward, and the ingredients come together beautifully without requiring overly complicated techniques.

It’s the kind of dish that makes you feel like you’ve created something truly special — without feeling overwhelmed in the process.

Final Thoughts

This biryani is more than just a meal — it’s a celebration of history, culture, and flavor. It carries the essence of Hyderabadi heritage while still being accessible enough for anyone to try at home.

So whether you’re new to biryani-making or someone who loves experimenting with flavors, this dish is definitely worth adding to your table.

Enjoy every fragrant, flavorful bite — and let it transport you to a royal Hyderabadi feast.

Lauki Ki Kheer

Kheer originated from Mughlai kitchens of India and is an important sweet delicacy for Muslims of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh especially during Eid or any other special celebrations. Other similar dishes like Payasam or Kheer originated in the kitchens of imperial Muslim rulers of India and is an important sweet delicacy for Muslims of India, especially during Eid or any other celebrations. … Other terms like Payasam or Payesh ( are inspired from Kheer and the names have been derived from the Sanskrit word Payasa or Payasam, which also means “milk”.

Kheer has been one of my most favorite desserts ever. Every Eid my Mom would make Rice Kheer which I always believed was the best Kheer I have ever had. Muslims know that its a real chaos when you find out around 11 PM that its Eid the next and women in the family have to start preparing. Almost the whole night passes in prepping for the next day and out of all the work, preparing Kheer has always been the most tedious and tiring of all. Probably making a small batch wouldn’t have been painful, but when you have a small close family of close relatives that reaches 100+ plus add up all distant relatives and friends who come over to meet and greet. So, Kheer is something that’s not just popular but also served to everyone, vegetarians and non vegetarians on Eid, so you can’t really afford to run short.

So, learning how to make my basic Kheer came from my mom. Cooking the milk on low to medium heat, stirring it constantly for almost 3 hours, reducing it to half the original quantity is always the basic to any delicious Kheer. But to my despair, Mr. Parveez doesn’t like Rice Kheer much. In fact, he never liked any Kheer when we got together, but with time I got him into loving Sheer Khurma/seviyaan Kheer, but not the rice one.

Anyways, I always hear people talking about Apple Kheer or Potato Kheer but I couldn’t ever get down to trying. Carrot Kheer or Gajrela was my mom’s go to dishes during Ramadan. I never tried finding out the reason why but may be she fely that this was the easiest way to incorporate some veggie and milk into her kids system while we fasted, I guess. So, after me successfully making Lauki ka Halwa, I wanted to try making the Kheer. It came out fabulous and I think for everyone who even doesn’t like Lauki would love it.

Pistachio Khoya Kulfi

The wonderful world of cold desserts and the version of ice creams served in India “Kulfi”. The word Kulfi or Qulfi is an Indian word derived from the Persian word “Qufli” which means “covered cup”. The dessert was likely originated during the era of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The mixture of milk, sugar and nuts. Kulfi is a gifted recipe from the Middle eastern travelers and settlers to India and neighboring countries. Along with so many architectural gifts to India, like the Taj mahal, which even till date makes our country so proud and has millions of visitors travel India only to see Taj Mahal once in their lifetime and so many gorgeous forts, along with Red Fort where the PM addresses the nation every year are all an awesome example of Mughal architectural skill.

Coming back the Kulfi, Indian cuisine were not aware of using Orange blossom, Rose water, saffron or a wide variety of dry fruits in the cuisine. The Mughals while introducing their cuisines and blending them with Indian flavors resulted in wide variety of Biryanis, Kebabs, curries and sweet dishes including Gulab Jamun, Jalebi and Rabri to name a few and of course, Kulfi.

This sweet dish is rich in flavor and can be made in various flavors and is always served cold. It can be served with Basil seeds or sabza that are soaked for an hour, as falooda. It can be flavored while serving as well. I usually like mine to be served with Rose syrup, or the popular Rooh Afza.

This particular recipe has Milk boiled till it thickens and reduces. Added Khoya and cooked further after adding sugar, cardamom powder, saffron, crushed Pistachio, Pistachio flavoring, a little green color and Milk powder to thicken the mixture making the Kulfi more dense and creamier. You can always change the flavors in a Kulfi keeping the base the same.

I also use Silver leaf for decoration, but that’s always optional, but something that makes you home kulfi different from the restaurant and trust me, even better.

Murgh Achaari Biryani

Different Biryanis and different flavors, so much to try and everything so deliciously fantastic that picking one to be my absolute favorite is impossible.

While growing up, I had a distant family and once a year, every Eid to be precise, they would have a gathering at their place. The lady was from Delhi and a fantastic cook. The best thing was that she always made a dish, that was uncommon in our families. It was always some new variety that belonged to Delhi and other states. For many of you, who aren’t aware, the non vegetarian dishes cooked in one state of India differ completely from the ones cooked in another state, even if we are neighboring state. So, I was 12 and that was the first time I tried Achaari chicken curry.

Now, I am a big fan of Achaar/ pickle. When we got married, I would drive Mr. Parveez crazy with the amount of pickle I consumed. So, to a person like me, eating chicken in Achaar flavor was indeed food from heaven. I really laugh at myself when I remember how I got after my mother to find the recipe and make the dish, which she did and it was always one of favorites. But, the story doesn’t end here.

Now when I am all set to try out new recipes, one fine day I decided to make Biryani out of this masala. As much as the idea sounds absurd and crazy, the Biryani came out delicious. The yakhni has strong flavor of fennel seeds and fenugreek. Its isn’t sour as what usually pickles are, so don’t fear trying out this recipe imagining the taste of boiled rice and pickle, coz it isn’t the same taste. The spice level is medium and i have had loads of people who pick this one to be one of the first dishes they learnt how to cook from me.

Its one of my best food experiments ever. Please feel free to ask if you’d like to make it with mutton/fish.