The best biscuits to bring back from Hyderabad
Sweet or savoury, round or crescent, Hyderabad’s Irani biscuits have retained their popularity since the nizam’s times, and make for the perfect food gifts to take home
Tea and biscuits evoke either a very British image—a floral china tea set and an assortment of jam-filled biscuits, hobnobs and Marie—or the everyday Indian kadak chai with Parle G served at a roadside stall. But, in Hyderabad, tea and biscuits take on multiple roles and an integral part of the city’s food culture. A cup of Irani chai with Osmania biscuits is how people begin their day. The toasty khara biscuit acts as a mid-day snack. Even weddings are incomplete without the indulgent dum ka roat.
“Hyderabad’s Irani bakery culture is unique. We don’t make too many kinds of breads unlike Mumbai, where pav or bun is very popular. Instead we take pride in our biscuits, and each one is different from the other," says Yunus Lasania, a journalist and heritage walk host for The Hyderabad History Project.
Bakeries in the city start making biscuits the previous night, and the production is usually complete by 3-4am. By 5am, morning walkers and daily wage labourers queue up outside cafes for a cup of milky Irani chai and biscuits, all for ₹20.
The city’s biscuit history is popularly tied to the round-shaped Osmania biscuit that is both sweet and savoury, flaky and buttery, and features in multiple guides on “food gifts to buy from Hyderabad".
There are two stories about the origin of the Osmania biscuit. One, that it was named after the last nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan, who ruled from 1911-48. It is believed that the biscuit made with flour, sugar, butter, custard powder, cardamom and saffron-infused milk received royal patronage and was much loved by the nizam.
Two, it was created at the request of the doctors at the Osmania General Hospital, also built by the nizam in 1910, who wanted a light snack to serve to their patients.
Café Niloufer, which has multiple outlets across the city, sells around 10,000 Osmania biscuits per outlet every day. Similarly, at Nimrah Café and Bakery near Charminar, and Subhan Bakery in Nampally, orders for these biscuits roll out at an unmatched speed.
Osmania is not the only name that forms the city’s biscuit legacy. Fruit biscuit, a buttery and crumbly biscuit studded with dried fruits, tutti frutti and raisins, is a close second to the Osmania in popularity. While most bakeries make fruit biscuits, Karachi Bakery, which was started in the 1950s by a Sindhi migrant, makes one of the most-loved fruit biscuits in the city.
At Shadab Hotel in the Charminar area, early mornings are marked by Irani chai and khara biscuit ( ₹10), a savoury version with a hint of cumin and sesame seeds. It is more toasted compared to the Osmania, giving it a deep brown colour. Before the Osmania became popular, it was the khara biscuit that was eaten more commonly, and was also offered to school children as a mid-day snack.
“I think one popular biscuit that not many people talk about is the khopra biscuit made with coconut and eggs. It is hard like a rock from the outside, but soft when you take a bite," says Shashank Anumula, managing director of Café Niloufer. He also mentions chand biscuit, named after its crescent moon shape, that were popular in the 1980s-90s. “Chand biscuits are sold on bandis (or hand carts) on the streets in the Charminar area and they are the best," says Anumula.
Visitors throng Nimrah Café, located near the Charminar, for its unparalleled view of the heritage monument, and its khopra ( ₹8 each) and chand biscuits ( ₹7). “We’ve had the same chefs baking these biscuits since the time my father Abood Bin Aslam opened the bakery in 1993. We also have a live kitchen, which means everything is baked right in front of the customers," says Abood Aslam, owner of Nimrah Cafe.
Another interesting thing about Irani cafes in the city is that a few of them open early to serve only tea and biscuits, while the full menu is available from 11am.
At Café Bahar in Basheer Bagh, customers are handed a token in the form of an aluminium coin that they show at a small window at the kitchen, where tea is being made, to receive their order. The savoury tie biscuit ( ₹8) here comes in the shape of a bow tie with a hard texture, but once dipped in tea, it becomes soft and crumbly.
The nankhatai, a biscuit that is a thicker version of the shortbread cookie—nan means bread and khatai means biscuit in Persian—has a rich texture that comes from the heavy use of butter.
In the more indulgent category of biscuits, there is dum ka roat ( ₹60 a piece at Café Niloufer), which almost gives the feeling of eating a mithai. The palm-sized biscuit is made with flour, butter, sugar, almond flour and milk solids, flavoured with cardamom and topped with an almond.
“There is one biscuit that I crave for, and that is the Fine biscuit. It isn’t really a biscuit, but more like a version of the French palmier," says Anumula.
The Fine biscuit is made by layering thin sheets of dough, has a caramelised top and is sprinkled with sugar. The shape varies, from heart-shaped and circular to oblong. “We only sell it at our oldest outlet in Lakdi Ka Pul, so when I crave it I go there," he says.
Chai and biscuit are a beloved pair across India, but in Hyderabad, it is an entirely different experience.
Shirin Mehrotra is a Delhi-based food writer and researcher.
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