Hyderabad: Food joints flood Old City streets

Hyderabad: The smell of Kebabs, Samosas, Cutlets and Haleem waft through the by lanes in the Old city of Hyderabad, where several food stalls have been set up during the month of Ramzan. After two years of Covid pandemic, the streets are abuzz again as hundreds of foodies converge to treat themselves to the mouth-watering delicacies.

The holy month of Ramzan began on April 3. The Muslims, who observe fast from dawn to dusk, break the fast with dates, fruits, followed by dishes like Kebabs, Rolls, Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, Dalcha Kheema and Bagara Khana.

The city hardly sleeps during the month as markets run round-the-clock. Hotels, restaurants and food stalls close after the pre-dawn meal for an hour or two. If Bagara Khana and Kheema are most sought for Sehri (predawn meal), Kebabs, Lacha Paratha, Arabian Ghava, and Dahi Wada are favourites at Iftar. From around 7 pm there is a rush towards the food stalls as hundreds of customers savour the dishes.

Temporary shops sell delicacies such as Marag and Pathar ka Gosht and perennial favourites such as Al-Akbar's Chicken 65, Shahran's Seekh Kebabs, Royal's Fish, and Nayab's Kheema-Gurda-Kaleji and Malai Paya.

The striking feature of the main street near City College, Hussaini Alam, is the variety of food that is on offer. Likewise in areas like Mallepally, Tolichowki, Lakdi-ka-pul, Malakpet and Banjara Hills, dozens of temporary food stalls have been set up for a month.

There are close to 30 dishes that one can eat. Top favourite is the Pathar-Ka-Gosht that is cooked on slow fire over a stone. After Haleem, this dish steals the show as it is not available in other months of the year.

"After the Iftar, the most favourite and mouth-watering dish of our family is Pathar ka Gosht. At least thrice a week, we go to have this dish after Iftar," said Tariq Omer, a foodie.

"Also, there are Mutton Marag, Malai Paya, Sheek Kebab, Reshmi Kebab, Malai Kebab, Mutton Fry, Achari Chicken, Malai Chicken, Sticks, Rolls and many different items that people will have here," said Mohammed Amjad, owner of Al-Farooj Sonu Kebabs at Hussaini Alam.

While the lockdown saw many caterers deliver food packets during the Ramzan last year, most of them have now opened the stalls this year at various places in the city.

"We serve the best of the best delicacies and also have vegetarian snacks on the menu. We have realised that though we are serving to Muslims in the city, most of the people visiting are non-Muslims and food lovers. We have noticed the increasing number of people from other communities coming to enjoy dinner or an iftar party with us," said Mohammed Shoieb, an owner of Kebab food court at Tolichowki.

Mutton Kheema, Kebab, Dahi Wada, Ghava and other fast-moving items such as Samosas filled with chicken, mutton and onion are still a hit. The evenings usually start with sparse crowds, but gather momentum after the prayer offering at the mosque, he added.

There are several such groups of friends as well as families eating the Ramzan feast outside. They say, "We eat home-cooked food daily for the rest of the year, but in Ramzan, there are several dozen dishes which will only be available during the holy month and they cannot be missed," said Murtuza Mohsin.

This year, the majority of the restaurants and hotels in the city are also serving the Sehri. Sehri – a pre-dawn meal taken before dawn. Malai Paaya and Tandoori Roti, Hyderabadi Khichdi with Kheema and Khatta, Bagara Khana with Tala Hua Gosht, Mutton Dalcha and Khatti Dal are the favorite dishes of the Sehri feast. Hotel Nayab and Shadab near Madina and Shah Ghouse in Tolichowki, outlets of Pista House are the favourites and pull in huge crowds. The stretch between Tolichowki and Mehdipatnam has its own stories to tell and flavours to entice you with. But that's a story for another time and another day.