Before You Die

Mrs Aziza Hassan
Irram Manzil Road, Khairatabad, Hyderabad.
Tel: 23315718
Prices based on actual costs

e got an e-mail from a friend listing “50 Things To Eat Before You Die”. It included things like Berthillon’s salted caramel ice cream in Paris; sushi at dawn at the Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo; poached lobster at the French Laundry in Napa Valley; macaroons from Pierre Herme; a fresh, sun-warmed fig straight off the tree; and—we were delighted to note—dum ki biriyani in Hyderabad. The question, of course, is where do you get the best biriyani in town? People debate endlessly over Paradise, Cafe Bahar etc but, let’s be frank: there’s no way you’ll ever get a great biriyani at mass-market joints like those. The only way to get the real thing is to get invited to an old Hyderabadi home...or to order from Mrs Hassan. She makes biriyani the way God intended it: delicate, subtly spiced, generous with mutton, and “with absolutely fresh ingredients, except the rice, which must be old”. She also makes a variety of other Hyderabadi delicacies—from baghare baigan to her legendary shikampur kababs—all in the authentic, traditional manner. Hyderabad’s cognoscenti order from her for parties, or to send to friends who live in other cities.