In 1856 the British deposed Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, and moved him to Metiabruz on the southwestern edge of Calcutta. He brought his court, his musicians, his kite-flyers and his kitchen.
The pension was large but not limitless. The standard account is that the cooks stretched the meat with potato, then a novelty vegetable in Bengal and expensive in its own right. Whatever the economics, the potato stayed and became the defining feature.
The seasoning is restrained: rose water, kewra, mace, a little saffron, and nothing that fights the rice. There is no fried-onion assault and no chilli heat. It is a perfumed dish rather than a spicy one, and people expecting Hyderabad are usually confused for the first three mouthfuls.
The egg is optional and modern. The potato is not optional and never was.
