Hyderabad’s Famous Biryani On Indian Postage Stamp

Now, a mail from the Indian post might make your mouth water as you may find Hyderabad’s sumptuous meal, Biryani on the postage stamp. The Department of Post has issued stamps with photos of Hyderabad's trademark cuisine biryani, baghare baingan and seviyan on Friday. As Hyderabad is all set to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the construction of Golconda Fort and foundation of Qutub Shahi dynasty in two months, the stamps are a tribute to the rich and varied cuisine of this historical city. These stamps are part of the postage on 24 different Indian dishes, including the famous Tirupati laddu. Other South Indian dishes like Idli-dosa and pongal have also been honoured with exclusive stamps. There are many stories revolving around the origin of Biryani. Biryani in Persian means fried onion. According to city historian Dr. Mohammad Safiullah, who is doing research on the foods of Hyderabad, Emperor Babar had brought Biryani to North India. In the south, Qutub Shahis, who were of Iranian descent, introduced several Persian and Turkish dishes including Biryani. Another hallmark dish of the royal kitchens of Hyderabad is the Bagare baingan. As baingan (eggplant) is native to India, it had always formed part of the Indian cuisine. Cuisine experts are not sure when seviyan became part of Id-ul-Fitr celebrations.Seviyan was introduced into Deccan by the Qutub Shahis.