Nuts and dried fruit in Hyderabadi biryani, haleem and mirchi ka salan: what goes where

Here is where each one belongs, how much to use, and what to buy.

Nuts in Hyderabadi biryani

The classic kacchi gosht ki biryani is layered with raw marinated meat and part-cooked rice, sealed and cooked on dum. Its flavour comes from the marinade, the fried onions (birista), mint, coriander, saffron milk, ghee and whole spices. The nuts are a finishing touch, and home cooks divide on them: many Hyderabadi families never add them, others would not serve a wedding-style biryani without them.

If you do add them, this is how:

• Cashews: split and fried golden in ghee or oil, then layered with the birista or scattered on top before serving.
• Almonds: slivered and fried lightly, for a crunchier, less sweet garnish.
• Kishmish: fried until they puff, a few only. A sweet note against the spice, not a mouthful of raisins.

For a biryani made with one kilo of rice, about 50 g of cashews, 25–30 g of almonds and 25 g of kishmish is a generous garnish.

For frying, Kaju Faad, cashews already split in two, is the practical buy. It is the same kernel as whole kaju, fries evenly, and costs less. Our guide on kaju grades explains the difference. For raisins, the long green Kishmish (Lambi Dakh) fries up plump and golden.

The whole spices that matter more

If you are buying for biryani, the whole spices will make a bigger difference than the nuts. A Hyderabadi biryani typically uses shahi jeera, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and mace, with black cardamom in many homes.

Shah Jeera in particular is the thin, dark seed also called black cumin, and much of the signature biryani smell comes from it; ordinary jeera is not a substitute. The rest are on our spices shelf, including mace (javitri) and bay leaf.

Nuts in haleem

Hyderabadi haleem, the slow-cooked mix of meat, wheat, lentils and ghee that the city eats through Ramzan, is garnished with fried onions, mint, coriander and a squeeze of lime. Fried cashews are a common addition on top, and some cooks add a few slivered almonds.

Haleem is pounded until the meat and grain become one smooth mass, so nuts are not usually part of the base. They add texture at the end: something crisp against something soft. For a family pot of haleem, about 30–50 g of fried cashews is plenty.

Haleem carries a Geographical Indication tag as a Hyderabadi dish, which tells you how seriously the city takes it.

Where nuts and seeds are ground in: mirchi ka salan and kormas

This is where Hyderabadi cooking really uses nuts and seeds.

Mirchi ka salan, the green chilli curry served with biryani, is built on a roasted paste of peanuts, sesame seeds and dry coconut, soured with tamarind. Bagara baingan, stuffed brinjal, uses a similar paste. Both depend on slow, even roasting: underdone and the paste tastes raw, overdone and it turns bitter.

For these, you need Safed Til (white sesame seeds). For a salan made with about 250 g of chillies, a typical paste uses 2 tablespoons of peanuts, 2 tablespoons of sesame and 2 tablespoons of dry coconut. We do not sell peanuts or coconut; buy them locally.

Kormas and shahi gravies in Hyderabadi cooking are often thickened with a paste of cashews, sometimes with poppy seeds (khus khus) or charoli. Soak the nuts in warm water for 20–30 minutes before grinding for a smooth paste. Broken cashews are ideal here, because the look does not matter. We do not stock poppy seeds.

What to buy: a short list

Store fried nuts in an airtight jar and use them within a few days; the fat in them goes stale quickly, especially in Hyderabad’s summer heat. Raw nuts and whole spices keep for months in a cool cupboard.

Delivery to Hyderabad takes 3–5 days, and it is free: orders start at ₹1,000. See today’s dry fruit prices in Hyderabad before you order.

Questions people ask