Hyderabadi biryani (also known as Hyderabadi dum biryani) is a style of biryani originating from Hyderabad, India made with basmati rice and meat (mostly goat meat). Originating in the kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad, it combines elements of Hyderabadi and Mughlai cuisines. Hyderabad biryani is a key dish in Hyderabadi cuisine and it is so famous that the dish is considered synonymous with the city of Hyderabad. The exact origin of the dish is uncertain. Despite legends attributing it to the Nizam’s chef, the biryani is of South Indian origin, derived from pilaf varieties brought to South Asia by Arab traders. Pulao may have been an army dish in medieval India. Armies would prepare a one-pot dish of rice with whichever meat was available. The distinction between “pulao” and “biryani” is arbitrary.^[9][10] Hyderabadi biryani incorporated Deccani or Telangana flavors of, perhaps in the Nizam’s kitchen.

Biryani is one of the most popular dishes in South Asia and among the South Asian diaspora, though the dish is often associated with the region’s Muslim population in particular.Regional variations exist, such as regarding the addition of eggs and/or potatoes, as well as religious ones, such as the replacement of meat with paneer or vegetables by vegetarians.^[2] Similar dishes are also prepared in many other countries like Iraq and Malaysia, and was often spread to such places by South Asian diaspora populations.^[3][4] Biryani is the single most-ordered dish on Indian online food ordering and delivery services, and has been described as the most popular dish in India