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Sweet Delights of Hyderabad

Food and Hyderabad are synonymous with each other! Hyderabadi biryani is famous all over the globe for its exquisite and pleasant aroma. But the good news is that cuisine in Hyderabad is not confined to Hyderabadi biryani only.

There are many more mouth watering recipes of this place which are available at some famous outlets in Hyderabad. But after the meal, everyone craves for something sweet. Yes! we are mentioning about the sweet savouries in Hyderabad for you to try.


Sweets of Hyderabad

Badam ki Jali and Ashrafi

Badam ki jali is a badam (almonds) and sugar preparation which is cut into interesting shapes, some with Urdu writings too over them when prepared for special occasions.

This is a vegetarian dish although earlier eggs were added to the dish. Not only Muslims but people belonging to all religions relish this tasty sweet preparation. Badam ki Jali is baked a little in the end.

Though Ashrafi is not baked and has its flavour enhanced with saffron added to it. 'Ashrafi' were gold coins issued by the Nizam of Hyderabad in earlier days. 

'Mawa' almond goes into making both these sweets. You have to see and eat these sweets to believe that something of this kind is available in Hyderabad! Cashew pasts is used too nowadays to make it more cost effective. Badam ki Jali and Ashrafi are available in Old Hyderabad.

Paper Sweet or Pootharekulu

Pootharekulu (singular is Poothareku) is a sweet that will surprise you first. You will turn it in all directions just to analyse what it is and good heavens! how have they prepared it. 

It will look to you like tracing paper with sugar sprinkled all over. But wait. It is much more than this --- a pure delight. The coating is known as pootha and the sheet is called reku (plural is Rekulu).


Hyderabad Sweets


In Andhra Pradesh, there is a village named Atreyapuram where these sweets are prepared in a large scale. Rice batter or jaya biyyam is used for preparation of this sweet. 

Sometimes powdered jaggery is also used in place of sugar. Wrappers out of rice flour are delicately prepared and then filled with powdered sugar or jaggery before folding them.

Gil-e-firdaus

Sweets are indeed important in Telugu culture, especially during festivals. They make for a yummy evening snack too. Speaking of sweets, can payasam be far behind.

There are various versions of payasam such as semia payasam, wheat payasam, wheat rawa payasam, parippu payasam etc. More of jaggery, vermacilli and coconut milk are utilized for preparing payasam. This dish is offered to idols in temples during rituals.


Gil-e-Firdaus Sweet


In Hyderabad, a special version of payasam namely Gil-e-firdaus is very popular. It has a thick consistency and is prepared using bottle gourd and milk. Do you know that Gil-e-firdaus actually means the clay of paradise?

Payasam is actually what we generally refer to as kheer. It is also loved by Muslims and prepared during nikah, festivals such as Eid-ul-fitr and Eid ul-Adha. They also love similarly prepared dessert called phirni or firni.

Ariselu or Arisa

Literally, Ariselu means rice. In Kannada, it is also referred to as kajaya. It is prepared during the festivals of Sankranti and other ceremonial occasions. Rice flour, jaggery (Bellamu in Telugu) or sugar and ghee are used for preparing this sweet. 

Knead the dough the way you do it for preparing chapati/puri. Make a flat and thick rounded shape like chapati and deep fry it. Decorate with sesame seeds or gingelly. Now call your family, sit together and  enjoy the tasty sweet snack.

Gavvalu

Prepared using dough of rice flour, water/milk, this is another special sweet you will love to prepare. Hey! You are already a specialist in preparing lovely and famous sweets of Hyderabad.

Fry in hot oil and keep aside. Pour in sugar or jaggery syrup when you eat them. Hmmm... celestial is the word that will cross your mind with the first bite of gavvalu!


Hyderabad Sweets

Milk Mysore Pak

A sweet dish made from milk powder (500 gms.), flour (250 gms.), elaichi powder (1 tbsp), ghee (500 gms.) and sugar (400 gms.). Make sugar syrup such that one string consistency (teega paakam) is achieved. 

Add milk powder and maida slowly and cook for another 15 minutes. Keep stirring all this while. Pour  ghee and now you have a thick, frothy mass. Transfer the mixture on a plate greased with ghee and pat it with a flat ladle. On cooling, it is cut into equal pieces.

Madtha Khaja

This is yet another sweet everyone craves for after meals or even as a snack. Maida, baking soda, rice flour, milk and ghee are used for preparing this sweet. Make small balls out of the maida flour dough. 

Make chappati-like shape from these balls and place one chappati over the other. In between, put rice flour and ghee and roll them. Now cut the roll into pieces, press and roll again with appadala karra.

Fry them till golden brown and drown tem in sugar syrup till the khaja absorbs the syrup well. Serve and bask in the glory of compliments of being a great cook! 

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