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Magic of Biryani helps Hyderabad bag UNESCO title of 'Creative City of Gastronomy'

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Last updated on - Nov 13, 2019, 17:00 IST

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Biryani and UNESCO!

Do you know that till 1940, there was no concept of restaurants in the city of Hyderabad that is known for biryani, kebabs, haleem and nihari. It’s just over a period of time that the trend started and now the city stands tall as the ‘Creative City of Gastronomy’ according to the latest list of UNESCO, which aims at pushing the Sustainable Development Goals through innovative thinking and action. The tasteful news was officially announced through a tweet by K.T. Rama Rao, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister and Hyderabad is one of the two cities in India that received a UNESCO title.

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The celebratory tweet

In his tweet K.T. Rama Rao, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister said, “Glad to announce that Hyderabad is selected as @UNESCO CREATIVE CITY in Gastronomy category, on the occasion of World Cities Day today. It’s among the 2 cities from India in the list of 66 cities, other being Mumbai in Film category.” In the tweet, he also thanked the MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar.

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UNESCO’s say

“All over the world, these cities, each in its way, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy,” said Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay, while making the announcement of the new cities.

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What’s the benefit?

According to food historians, this recognition will bring the focus on the city's rich culinary heritage. The food industry in the city employs 12% of the population and if reports are to be believed the city consumes about 700 tonnes of chicken, every day and 2,000 tonnes during festivals is expected to rise with this recognition.

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Public reaction

As soon as the news was announced, the social media platforms saw an acute spike in the hashtag #biryanilove and we guess it reflects the true love of Indians for biryani. While chicken and mutton biryani still rule the heart of majority, what’s your favourite version? Let us know in the comments section below.

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