HYDERABAD: There are Hyderabadi specialities and then there are hidden Hyderabadi culinary gems. The former is popular, no doubt, but they are also available on every street corner of the city. The latter, however, is something you won’t find in the food app of your smartphone. Or Google maps can help you order it. These are recipes made homestyle in the bylanes (gullies) of Hyderabad by mothers, grandmothers and the matrons of the families. Just listening to the names of these dishes — sherbat-e-Mohabbat, potli samosa, chukke ko bhaji ka ghosth, Kaddu ka dalcha, gil-e-firdaus and more — will take you down the memory lane of finger-licking meals at home, as a child.
Bringing to us such heirloom Hyderabadi recipes is the ongoing 10-day food festival at the newly-furbished restaurant Food Exchange at Novotel Hyderabad Airport, Shamshabad. Called ‘Rediscovering the Lost Recipes of Hyderabad’, the food festival has the chefs as the hotel collaborating with Luqma, a catering service lovingly put together by the women of SAFA, a social enterprise for the empowerment of women and young girls in Hyderabad. SAFA empowers women who have been victims of gender violence in urban slums trying to make a dignified living.
Available only for dinner, the curated five-course meal also has a good spread for vegetarians — the classic dahi ki kadhi, khatti dal and sabzi tahari. Biryani (kacche gosht ki biryani and vegetable biryani) is most definitely a big part of the meal.
The welcome drink — an intensely sweet rose milk preparation with watermelon cubes and nuts is refreshing. Kheema lukhmi was the highlight of the starter pack. Talawa jhinga sirka pyaz — a flavourful prawn in Hyderabad masala delicacy was the crowd’s favourite. Cutting across vegetarian and non-vegetarian lines was the Baghaar-e-baingan, tender brinjals stuffed with masala and cooked in tangy tamarind gravy.
The meal ends with double ka meetha, Hyderabadi style. If you love the flavours, the hotel has a counter for biryani and chai masala takeaway tins. General manager Rubin Cherian tells CE “The home chefs at Luqma come with the magic of flavour in their hands, so, to be able to give them a stage to share this gift is a pleasure for us.”