People always seem surprised about how much of the local cuisine I am willing to sample. Actually I like Indian food quite a lot. Some friends of mine are especially fond of extremely spicy Indian food. (You know who you are you crazy pepper snorting fools!) Anyway, I was told that if I like that kind of spice then Hyderabad is the place to get it. Food is a big attraction here in Andra Pradesh. I've always liked biryani and here it is a speciality. The spices here are indeed more liberally applied than in Mumbai and they have truly found the right mix as far as I'm concerned: Just spicy enough to call it spicy without burning your mouth off to prove you can eat anything. I have grown fond of the masala omelettes which are a staple for breakfast. There's also a dish called egg burrhi which is a kind of scramble with peppers and spices and… well… I'm not sure what else, but it's good! There's a dairy just outside the walls of the studio that provides the caterers with fresh yogurt every day. That's also a treat.
Another delight of Indian cuisine is the bread called roti. There's a couple of types but the one people love here is tandoor roti. The trick with roti is that it must be freshly baked and I mean freshly baked. Hot from the oven fresh. Most Indians won't eat roti that is cold. As such even on the set the roti must be baked on site. The caterers always include two bakers. Here in Hyderabad this is two guys with a 55 gallon drum rebuilt into a roti bakery. They fire it up with charcoal until the steel walls are ready to bake bread.
The oven has an overhanging curve of metal at the top which is heated from behind. The bakers form the dough into balls then the roti master flattens them in his hands, forms them onto a rounded mold which he uses to stick the dough to the underside of the heated metal overhang. When the roti is baked the second baker fishes it out with special hooks, then brushes butter all over it and ferries it to the food line. He rarely makes it that far though as calls of "roti!!" from the tables usually empty his basket long before he gets there.
So here's a hint: when in India, sit near the bakers oven!
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| Roti ready for the oven |
Another delight of Indian cuisine is the bread called roti. There's a couple of types but the one people love here is tandoor roti. The trick with roti is that it must be freshly baked and I mean freshly baked. Hot from the oven fresh. Most Indians won't eat roti that is cold. As such even on the set the roti must be baked on site. The caterers always include two bakers. Here in Hyderabad this is two guys with a 55 gallon drum rebuilt into a roti bakery. They fire it up with charcoal until the steel walls are ready to bake bread.
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| The favorites! The roti bakers! |
So here's a hint: when in India, sit near the bakers oven!
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