Biryani, Anyone? Telangana is the Most Non-Vegetarian State

No surprises here! Telegana with its biryani, pasinde and keema methi, tops the list of non-vegetarian states.

Think Hyderabad, and what is the first word that comes to your mind? Delicious biryani and haleem, right? (Photo: iStockphoto)

For those who have lived around Charminar and relished the delicious biryani in the bylanes of old city for decades, non-vegetarianism is a way of life. And turns out, so is the case with 99 percent of Telangana’s residents.

According to a survey conducted by the Registrar General of India, which included people above the age of 15, Telangana has the highest proportion of meat-eaters in the country. Almost an equal percentage of men (98.8) and women (98.6) are non-vegetarians in the state. Overall, the percentage of non-vegetarians across the country has dropped from 75 percent in 2004 to 71 percent in 2014.

Keema methi is a popular Hyderabadi dish known for it delightful flavours. (Photo: iStockphoto)

The results of the survey reflects the traditional eating habits of the state, according to a report in The Times of India.

People in Telangana consume a lot of lamb and chicken even for breakfast. Different body parts of animals such as gurda (kidney), bheja (brain), paya (trotters) among others are consumed. Many people also consume rabbits, emu and quail.

Sabyasachi Raychaudhuri, Food Blogger

A specialty of Hyderabad, pasinde is a mutton dish cooked with roasted coconuts. (Photo: iStockphoto)

West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala follow Telangana in the list of states with the highest non-vegetarian population. Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana have the highest number of vegetarians.