Phani Kumar’s Blog

In the month of Ramzan, Times of India conducts haleem and biryani contest. All the food joints which serves the dishes were voted by people and 20 were selected for the finals.

The first panel of judges sampled haleem and biryani from the top-20 list, posing as customers. Five parameters, namely, taste, hygiene, presentation, portion size and value for money were the criteria.Of the 20, the top nine were selected to have stalls at the final venue.

Best Biryani:

• First - Paradise
• Second - 4 Seasons
• Third - Deccan Pavillion, ITC Kakatiya

Best Haleem:

• First - Shadab
• Second - Madina
• Third - Sarvi

Judges:
Faiz Khan, the great grandson of Sir Vicar-ul-Umra, the fifth Amir of Paigah; a man of art and culture is an authority on royal cuisine.

Tucy the great grandson of last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, and has researched for years in Central Asia on the three categories of Mughlai cuisine – Chutai, lashkari and Khwan-e Zaffar.

Rafat Qureshi also comes from a Mughal family, being the granddaughter of Vhouse-bin- Bahadur. She is the HOD at the Indian Institute of Hotel Management.

The week-long haleem and biryani contest ended with a grand iftar party hosted by Hyderabad Times at the ITC Grand Kakatiya.