On a chai-biscuit trail in Hyderabad

Sweet or savoury, round or crescent, Hyderabad's Irani biscuits have retained their popularity since the nizam's times

- Shirin Mehrotra

Tea and biscuits evoke either a very British image—a floral china tea set and an assortment of jam-filled biscuits, hobnobs and Marie—or the everyday Indian kadak chai with Parle G served at a roadside stall.

But, in Hyderabad, tea and biscuits take on multiple roles and an integral part of the city's food culture. A cup of Irani chai with Osmania biscuits is how people begin their day. The toasty khara biscuit acts as a midday snack. Even weddings are incomplete without the indulgent dum ka roat.

"Hyderabad's Irani bakery culture is unique. We don't make too many kinds of breads unlike Mumbai, where pavor bun is very popular. Instead we take pride in our biscuits, and each one is different from the other," says Yunus Lasania, a journalist and heritage walk host for The Hyderabad History Project.

Bakeries in the city start making biscuits the previous night, and the production is usually complete by 3-4am. By 5am, morning walkers and daily wage labourers queue up outside cafes for a cup of milky Irani chai and biscuits, all for ₹20.

The city's biscuit history is popularly tied to the round-shaped Osmania biscuit that is both sweet and savoury, flaky and buttery, and features in multiple guides on "food gifts to buy from Hyderabad".

There are two stories about the origin of the Osmania biscuit. One, that it was named after the last nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan, who ruled from 1911-48. It is believed that the biscuit made with flour, sugar, butter, custard powder, cardamom and saffron-infused milk received royal patronage and was much loved by the nizam.