Mama Mia Italia in Secunderabad is all about cheese and churros
HYDERABAD: In recent times, Sainikpuri in Secunderabad has turned into a buzzing location for food outlets.
The area, which gets its name from the retired army personnel who had settled down in this colony, has seen many large and small restaurants opening in the last couple of years.
But for the residents, some of the older places still hold the same charm. Mama Mia Italia, a small place serving pizza and desserts since 2013 has a lot of loyalty among the food lovers in the area.
About six years ago, PVN Sastry and his wife Veena were planning to relocate back to Hyderabad from abroad and start a restaurant here.
They were regular visitors to a wood-fired pizzeria close to their home in the United Kingdom, and this made them first think of getting into pizza making. Soon they landed up in Italy to make a thorough study of the pizza business there.
Armed with the knowledge and knowhow they came back to Hyderabad and set up a pizzeria named Mama Mia Italia on the first floor of a building in a quiet corner of Sainikpuri. The novelty of this place was pizza made in a wood-fired oven, which at that time was not available in Secunderabad.
The advantages of pizzas prepared in such ovens are that these can be prepared in a short time, and the ingredients retain most of the nutrients. The initial offerings were a few varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Neapolitan-style pizzas as well as pasta and pannacotta.
With popularity steadily going up over the years, the outlet has since shifted to an even bigger space on the ground floor with the oven located in a kitchen at the back of the building.
Mama Mia currently boasts of about twenty different varieties of pizzas. Apart from the original Margherita and Pepperoni, the Italian Chicken with a topping of herb-infused chicken and lots of vegetables is a signature dish of this restaurant.
The place also has six different pizzas with paneer toppings, with variations like tikka, Schezwan, and Peri Peri. From the pizza bases to the sauces, everything is made in-house at the outlet. The pizzas are made only after receiving the order, and the restaurant follows a zero waste policy.
Over time, a range of thick shakes and coffee was also added to the menu. The simple bakery items like the healthy whole wheat brownies and plum cakes (only during Christmas) have also made a mark with the customers in the area.
A couple of months back the outlet has added Spanish churros to the list of offerings. Another introduction is the soft lemon drizzle cake which uses Brazilian large lemons to infuse balanced flavours without too much of tanginess.
Veena is very passionate about the bakery items and plans to add on more products shortly. It is good to see that the couple is so focused on using the best quality ingredients for all their products. Next time you are in Sainikpuri, do not forget to drop in at Mama Mia Italia to try their pizza and cakes.