HYDERABAD: If there is one place in the old city of Hyderabad where the food lovers flock to for an early breakfast, it is Hotel Nayaab. Close to the Madina signal in the Ghansi Bazaar area, and about a 10-minute walk from the Charminar, Nayaab is known for its scrumptious spread available from wee hours in the morning. The eatery opens as early as 4 am, and often by the stroke of nine, many of the breakfast items are over.
As you enter the hotel, you can see an aluminum pot full of steaming nihari with lamb trotters or paya pieces next to it. Bhaji Gurda (kidneys of lamb in a spinach based masala), Bheja Masala (spicy lamb brain) and kheema (lamb mince gravy) are all there for you to enjoy with some hot naans. But the dish which takes the pride of place in this breakfast is Malai Paya, a masala laden lamb trotter dish topped with cream. Bheja Fry, a recipe with lamb brain is another dish not to be missed.
In fact, Nayaab can safely be called a heaven for lovers of offals, they have a dish made from zaban or the lamb tongue as well. To accompany the food, there is the saffron-based Kesar Chai which is difficult to restrict to just one cup. The saffron flavoured offering has a proprietary masala apart from milk and tea and has been a signature drink from this place for the last 15 years.
However, it is not just breakfast that Nayaab is known for. During the day, while the biryani is a coveted dish here, the place is equally known for its mutton curry and ginger chicken. Dum ka Kheema, where mutton mince is cooked in a vessel with coal embers on top is a clear winner too. The most popular snacks are onion samosas and lukmis.
During Ramzan, all roads lead to Nayaab. An integral part of most Old City Food Walk during the Holy Month, the haleem here is coveted by many. The hotel is known even more for its sehri food for which there is so much rush that you often find virtually no place to stand here.
Nayaab has a rich legacy of more than 30 years. In 1986, Aziz Zafar, who used to run a small canteen took over Mehrab Hotel in Ghansi Bazar and renamed it Nayaab. The outlet was the first to offer Deccani Haleem commercially. Omer Aziz, son of the owner who is also part of the management now recalls that in the initial days the ingredients for the haleem used to be pounded at their home.
The initial offerings of the hotel such as the mutton curry and ginger chicken apart from biryani and haleem became so popular that the restaurant never had to look back. About a decade ago, the hotel started offering Sehri food during the early morning hours of Ramzan. A breakfast item Malai Paya has now become available throughout the day. As a food lover Taher Syed puts it, “Quite a few eateries offer Hyderabadi breakfast, but no one has such a spread like Nayaab”.
Sabyasachi is a food enthusiast and blogs at www.foodaholix.in