Hyderabad Pearls:
The village of Chandanpet just outside Hyderabad, almost the entire population is engaged in the delicate art of drilling pearls. A skill they have practised for generations, making Hyderabad one of the largest drilling centres in India.
Once the pearls are drilled, they are boiled for about four days to bleach them and rid them of their dark color. They are placed in glass bottles containing hydrogen peroxide, water and ether and sunned for four or five days in glass sun boxes with a mirror base. Finally they are washed and separated through series of different shapes and sizes.
Pearls are also graded according to color. While pink pearls and black pearls are also considered to be of good quality, white pearls have traditionally been most popular. A good quality white pearl reflects a lovely sky blue color under ultraviolet light while a poor quality one has a greenish or mustardish sheen. Black pearls that have a green sheen and baroque (irregular shaped) pearls that reflect a rainbow of colors are also amongst the more valuable varieties. While black and pink pearls are also rare and beautiful, most traditional Hyderabad jewellery is made with white pearls.
Hyderabad Bangles:
Hyderabad Biryani: Hyderabadi Biryani is a famous meat and rice dish of Hyderabad, India. It is a traditional celebration meal made using goat meat and rice and is a staple of Hyderabadi cuisine. This variety is popular in the city of Hyderabad, India. The blending of Mughlai and Telangana cuisines in the kitchens of the Nizam, ruler of the historic Hyderabad State, resulted in the creation of Hyderabadi Biryani.
Biryani was brought to Hyderabad by the invading Mughal army of Aurangazeb, under the command of Khwaja Abid, the grandfather of the first Nizam of Hyderabad.
As traditional food, such as cooked rice and/or roti (a type of Indian bread) and an assortment of soups and curries, would be too time consuming to prepare and eat in times of war, the biryani was developed as a way of getting quick food to the troops.
