hmmm... What makes you suggest that Im intolerant??? As Sanjay Thumma says in his introduction to the recipe that the Hyderabadi Biryani is almost a tourist attraction. If you look at the various recipes for various biryanis the basics are almost the same. Rice, meat, spices, marinade. Cook in layers. So what would make one call a biryani 'hyderabadi' say over one which is called 'sindhi?' or bombay biryani, or madras biryani or Bangalore biryani(yes there is such a thing) He also mentions that the heritage of the Biryani was developed in the Nawabi period and obviously a part of the Nawabi culture. It has certain characteristics by which people recognise it as Hyderabadi biryani. If you would take a survey of professional cooks(not the 5 star kind ) and natives of Hyderabad they will tell you some specifics. Among these specifics is that there is hardly any extensive list of spices used in marinating the meat. Ginger, Garlic, a bit of Chilli(some use green chilli paste some none), a bit of turmeric and yoghurt form the base. The Whole garam masala is used to flavor the boiling water and thrown out while adding rice, some hotels in secunderabad have been leaving the whole garam masala in the biryani, a matter of convenience and add such small pieces of whole garam masala in such quantity that picking it out of the plate slows one down. I suspect they also make it too hot so a customer feels the heat and cannot eat too much and is satisfied with the quantity provided. So those are the basics of the hyderabadi biryani, very simple spices, extremely simple marinade, extremely simple cooking method(ie if you get it right!!!) a mild dish which can be a meal in itself and if needed can be further spiced by the Baghare baigan or mirchi ka salan or with raita if more gravvy is needed by the individual. Im not against experimentation and variety. In fact I once enjoyed a most wonderful chicken biryani in a Andhra resturant in Nalgonda(which is quite near to hyderabad) that I still rembember the taste, they did not call it Hyderabadi biryani nor will many hyderabadi natives ever call it Hyderabadi biryani. Like I said a hyderabadi biryani has particular taste and method of cooking and if any & every type of biryani can be called hyderabadi biryani it does not make sense at all. There are many names available and can be invented I have nothing against that. What makes a San Franscisco sourdough special is a particular taste because of the typical yeast present in that area. There is only a very subtle diffrence from a San Franscisco Sourdough bread from that of any other sourdough. Similar is the case of Hyderabadi biryani, adding pepper, cummin & corriander powder changes that recognisable identity. In particular it should be noted that use of black pepper is one of the first identifiers of a Sindhi Biryani. Would adding Thai methods and spices to awadhi cusines give it the label of lucknowi dish?? after all we use almost similar ingredients in both cuisines. Giving the right name would be important or in this case not giving the wrong label would be important. We can call the new dish by any new name or chose not to give it a name or give it a descriptive identifier.