Hyderabadi Food: My Experience

India is such a diverse country. 

Our cultures, way of living and even some of the basic day to day activities vary so much within the country that it is impossible for an outsider to even guess that Rajnikanth and Gurmeet Ram Rahim are two superstars from the same country. Who would say that both Sunder Pichai and Kejriwal are two engineers from India and both were IITians. Such fascinating diversities! As you travel from one part of the country to another, it is compelling to find that states like Jammu & Kashmir offer weathers where woolen clothes are a must and in the same country there are states like Tamil Nadu, where if you wear woolen clothes even in the month of December, you would be sent to a mental asylum. For people residing there, "Winter is Coming" is an emotionally mournful statement. Leaving aside the hot weather, one of the many things which intrigued me was the wide variety of food available in Southern India. Well, without divulging much deeper into this, let me describe my foodie experience in South-Indian style.

The Chicken Fried Rice: This has been one of my favorite food items for a very long time. And the thing about fried rice is that everyone is quite familiar to it. The cost is anywhere between Rs 35-45 and the amount is ample enough to describe it as pocket-friendly. The street food culture is quite unique in South India and fried rice is part of this rare culinary.

As I took the first spoonful in my mouth, the gullible spices touched my taste buds as if they were hungry Big Boss fans and my tongue was Bhai himself. The gusto felt very exclusive. The small pieces of chilly along with the curry leaves was a refreshing change. It made me happy.

As I was beginning to enjoy my culinary expedition, the spices began to show its true colors. The delicious feeling turned into high voltage brute in my mouth. The hotness of the food is so much that if you drink water along with it and spit it out, fire comes out from your mouth. With teary eyes I looked at the colorful person at the counter. "Et tu Brute", I managed to murmur at him.

The Chicken Dry-Fry: This is the Hitler of the food department in Hyderabad.

The chicken pieces look fanatically mouth watering. The aroma is rhapsodic too. By its looks, it can be described as an exotic German beauty of the food kingdom but as I took the first piece inside my mouth, the famous German dictator took form. As I began biting into it, I came to know why Hyderabadi food is considered to be among the hottest. I looked liked an ebola patient leaking water from my eyes, nose and my entire face. If it wasn't for the leakage, I would have blasted off in the path of the incalculable North Korean missiles that Kim dreams of every morning. And no, I am not speaking of the Kardashian babe here. But since I love food more than anything else, I continued my ambrosial journey with tears flowing down my eyes and sweat dripping down my entire body. I felt as if I was consuming the contents of an active volcano with lava drizzling out from my mouth. The mixture of chicken and the infinite amount of spices were running down my food pipe like a concentrated solution of Sulphuric Acid and Hydrochloric Acid.

The Biryani: The best thing about the Biryani in Hyderabad is its quality taste and its low price as compared to other North Indian food joints. The huge amount provided is another bonus point. But as a non-Hyderabadi, it is a challenge to gorge on the entire plate. The raitaa looks like a century-old grisly milk mixed with salt. The curry which is provided with it should be named as the atom bomb. The level of fury is so much in this one, maybe this is one of the reason why Katappa killed off Bahubali. If Adele consumes this in the morning, her voice would turn to Dhinchak Pooja by afternoon. Have you noticed how South Indian movie stars always remain unharmed even if they are attacked by a war tank? And how the villain always fly out when hit by a small thing as feather? For sure, these amazing ideas are born inside the brains of the script writers, directors and stunt managers as a result of eating excess Hyderabadi Biryani with a Super Saiyyan level of masala in it. Amen!

On a serious note, if you are a foodie and your love for food is unparalleled, then Hyderabadi food is a must. Their spices are rare and the taste is something which you would miss once you are away from this place.

Happy Eating.