(Above) Chicken biryani at Bawarchi; Biryani at a restaurant in Calcutta

Hyderabad, July 26: For decades, it has been Hyderabadi cuisine’s badge of honour, its mouth-watering aroma of meat and spices carrying a whiff of the city’s proud nawabi heritage.

But the Hyderabadi biryani, born in the Nizam’s kitchens in a fusion of “Mughlai” and Telengana cuisines, could soon find itself on the endangered list. The reason is that its price has rocketed from Rs 75 a plate to Rs 200 in two years.

Sales have slipped by some 25 to 30 per cent over the past two-three months at popular biryani hubs like Bawarchi, Sadab, Madina and Parvesh. Of the 150-odd smaller eateries that served the dish, some have closed and many are selling a watered-down, “duplicate” biryani that fools only the tourist.

The city’s gourmets are either drilling holes in their pockets to continue their love affair with the genuine dish, or abandoning it in favour of the humble chicken rice or mutton rice.

Latif Khan, owner of Bawarchi, blames the rise in the prices of cooking oil, basmati rice and meat. He has been selling 7,000 plates of biryani a day for the past two weeks instead of the 10,000 he sold even a few months ago.

The five-star hotels wouldn’t reveal their figures, but at Rs 500-1,000 a plate, their biryani had a select few takers anyway.

“The biryani with its tasty meat cuts and the fabulous aroma arising with the steam from the bowl still captivates me,” said Urdu poet and writer Basheeruddin Khan, regretting the uncertain future the dish is staring at.

Hyderabad’s popular eateries used to sell 50,000 plates of biryani on weekdays and nearly double that number on Sundays and holidays. About a fifth of this was exported by air every day to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

“The Hyderabadi biryani has no substitute even in Muslim countries like Iraq and Iran which are renowned for their meat delicacies,” said Pratibha Karan, an expert on Deccan cuisine.

But even the exports have fallen over the past six months, with airlines now reluctant to carry the cooked meal in sealed containers. Restaurant owners now need special permission, and the biryani has to be cooled to a very low temperature, risking its flavour.

According to legend, the Hyderabadi biryani was conceived at the Nizam’s Chow Mohalla Palace and Purani Haveli near Charminar. It is cooked with basmati rice, lamb or goat meat — with some variations using chicken or beef — yoghurt, onions, spices, lemon and saffron, and garnished with coriander and fried onions. It goes well with mirchi ka salan, dhanshak and baghare baingan.

“The biryani ensemble is not complete without the meetha paan served in a silver foil,” said Ahmed Allam Khan, member of one of the city’s former royal families.

The dish can come in two variations: the kachchi (raw) biryani and the pakki biryani.

For the kachchi biryani, raw meat is marinated in yoghurt and slow-cooked over a low flame on the dum (coal or firewood oven) along with the rice in a handi (vessel) sealed with a layer of dough. A slight error of time or temperature, and you end up overcooking or undercooking the meat.

Many a royal wedding in and around Hyderabad has been spoiled by a badly cooked biryani.

For the pakki biryani, the meat is marinated for a shorter period and is cooked before being layered with the rice and cooked again in a dough-sealed vessel. There is also a vegetarian version, made with carrots, peas, cauliflower and potatoes.

Chicken rice and mutton rice, which now threaten the biryani, originated in coastal Andhra. The fried or steamed chicken or mutton is cooked separately from the masala rice. A plate costs Rs 35-45.

But Narender Luther, former bureaucrat and an expert on Hyderabad’s history, is clinging to hope. “Unlike these (coastal) dishes, the biryani is a product of Hyderabadi culture like haleem (a porridge of flour and meat) and pearls. Its popularity will survive among some people even if the prices soar,” he said.