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Taher Syed

Reviews

Nice Juice Centre – Tolichowki

Posted on September 17, 2016

Nice Juice Center – Their First branch was opened by Mohd. Abdul Nasser in the year 1985 & still run by him at M.G Road Sec’bad and 30 yrs later in 2015 his two sons Mohd. Abdul Malik and Mohd. Abdul Khader opened their second branch in the Tolichowki Area.

It is typically a Fruit Juice and Chaat Center with few amazing specialties on the menu which makes them stand apart from the local vendors you might find in your locality

Ambiance: Indoor seating has a capacity of 24 whereas outdoor can handle around 26 folks. Pictures of fruits and their benefits adorn the wall , a semi covered kitchen area is visible where you have people busy preparing stuff, 2 stalls outside where one prepares chaat items and the other provides Pani Puri

Service: At peak times it tends to be very slow as many of the items on the menu are prepared fresh and they take time. Inquire with the waiter on the amount of time it would take if you are in a hurry

Food: Their Chaat menu consists of Ragda Chaat, Samosa Chaat, Pav-Bhaji, Pani-Puri along with their different variants which are all amazing and definitely value for money when it comes to Quality/Quantity vs Price.

They also serve different varieties of Pizza, Grilled & Normal Sandwiches as well. With a price range of Rs.50-70 for the sandwiches and Rs.90-120 for the Pizza, it is definitely affordable and quite a hit with the college going crowd which frequent this place in the afternoons
Primarily a juice center where they serve seasonal varieties like strawberry, mango, sitaphal, avacado apart from the regular ones and also few dry fruit specials which are amazing in taste

Few of their specialties are:
• Dry Fruit Overload/ Khuwate Jin : Loosely translated it means “Strength of a Jinn” (A supernatural creature with strength) – A concoction of Almond, Pistachio , Dates, Pine nuts, Walnut, Cashew nuts, Anjeer(Figs), Raisins mixed with fresh cream and made into a paste. It is served with a small scoop of ice cream in between and topped with all dry fruits

Dry Fruit Overload/Khuwate Jin

• Mulberry Cream: As the name suggests Mulberry is given along with Fresh Cream, one of the tastiest and popular items here

• Arabian Salad: It’s a dry fruit salad where all the dry fruits are first fried in Ghee and then made into a paste, then the mixture is topped with the regular dry fruits and served

Arabian Salad

Reviews

V Junction Global Eatery

Posted on September 17, 2016

V Junction Global Eatery is the new kid on the food scene with multi cuisine buffet and ala carte options. This was started by Veer Vijay Singh and his two sons Vishwaveer and Suryaveer Singh,Veer Vijay Singh was part of Taj group earlier and started the trance group of Hotels & Resorts and V Junction is one of their brands serving global cuisine, His son Suryaveer Singh was part of 4 seasons group of Hotels where he refined his culinary and customer service skills before heading this restaurant. It always pays to have the right set of people heading a restaurant who know what to deliver in terms of service and quality.

As part of the Desi Foodies group we had organised an event here for 40 people and the following review is the culmination of the event and subsequent visits before and after the event.

Located prominently in Banjara Hills opp. City Centre mall, it is quite an easy find with its usage of glass display on the exterior and a large V being displayed in the middle

Ambiance: Large seating options which can accommodate around 120 ppl with 2 PDR which has option of being made into a bigger seating area based on the seating requirements. Good for family parties and corporate gatherings. They also have a separate area with a glass enclosure which great for parties, watching those cricket matches on a big projector or just plain and simple letting your hair down and partying with the great music system with a DJ console that has been setup. Great thing is that the glass is sound proof and the people dining outside will not get disturbed
Service: One of the few places where you can see each and every person serve you with a smile on their face, we have had 40 people making each and every member of their staff run around and they did so with utmost ease and without a single frown on their face. Kudos!!!

Food: The name Global Eatery is quite apt as they serve a variety of cuisines under one roof viz. Indian, Eurasian and Oriental in the a la carte section. Most of these dishes are available in the buffet section as well.

Mocktails: I have tried their Green garden which had Mint, Apple Juice & Kiwi, Strawberry lemonade and both of them were nice.

We had a wide range of starters available for the event; few of the ones that I had tasted were amazing

Dimsums: We had 2 Veg and 2 Non Veg options provided, Crystal vegetable dumpling, Mushroom dumpling, Prawn Har gao, Chicken dumpling where the Prawn Har gao was the tastiest and warranted multiple repeats

Sushi’s: We had 2 Veg and 2 Non Veg options available Vegetarian tempura maki,Vegetarian Futo maki, Non veg- spicy crabstick maki, Non veg- salmon cheese roll out of which the Spicy crabstick maki stood out as a clear winner. For their Oriental cuisine they have a separate Chef who had previously worked in popular 5 star establishments across the globe and the main person behind delivering tasty sushi’s

The sushi’s were served with the usual Soy sauce, Wasabi and Gari (Pickled Ginger)
Marmalade Prawns – The sweet and spicy flavored tasty prawns were served piping hot and gobbled up pretty quickly, one of the recommended items in the starters section which you shouldn’t miss

Butter Chicken – This dish in the main course section deserves a special mention, special north style preparation which is tasty and delicious and goes amazingly well with Butter Naan. I kinda got greedy and ate more than I would have liked to. This dish is not available in the buffet and has to be ordered separately via the a-la-carte menu
Biryani – This was one dish that I had pointed out which needed improvement during my first visit , the management worked on it and ensured that they fix it before the event

There were 6 options in desserts other than the Ice creams and unfortunately we were not able to taste them as the foodies finished the delicious items in no time, I had tasted Cappuccino cream Brulee, Chocolate pudding, Almond chocolate cake in my previous visit 5 days back and they were amazing. They have procured a new oven and will be increasing the items in the buffet shortly

On multiple occasions that I have been to this place I have seen Surya look after each and every aspect of the business, from attending to the customers, to getting the dishes from the kitchen, getting things replaced, checking with the customers about their experience. With this hand on approach I am sure that this place will definitely do wonders

Reviews

Capital Kitchen

Posted on September 17, 2016

A new fine dine restaurant in the Madhapur area serving a multitude of cuisines under one roof, Owned by Rakesh Agarwal & Kunal Kankaria (Kunal also runs a catering company Can O’Peas along with his wife in the begumpet area) who ensured to keep good food and great ambiance

Me along with my friends decided to visit this place for Lunch on 22^nd July’16

Location: Next to D-Mart and opposite Ci Gusta, on the 4^th Floor Madhapur

Ambiance: Subtle lighting, nice décor, private dining area for corporate/family gatherings were spot on.

Food: We were waiting for our friend to join so we asked for the mocktail menu and were informed that they have limited options as they are waiting for liquor license to start their mocktail and cocktail section, placed the order and while we waited for the drink to arrive we were served bread sticks with mayo dip which was a nice option to have before you start your meal

Our order of Mocktails arrived i.e Cuddles on the beach, Virgin Mojito and Peach delight, all three were okay

Peach delight

Virgin Mojito

Starters: Yoghurt Spicy Vegetable Balls, Thai Basil Black Pepper Chicken, Crusted Spicy Water Chestnuts

Yoghurt Spicy Vegetable balls were just like Manchuria but with a Yoghurt base, flavorful and tasty but the quantity was less compared to the price

Yoghurt Spicy Vegetable balls

Thai Black Pepper Chicken was the tastiest dish of the afternoon, well made and tasty but again the quantity for me was very less

Thai Black Pepper Chicken

Crusted Spicy Water Chestnuts were too hard and we found it difficult to bite and chew it, it was promptly replaced and was better in the next round, the chef personally took the feedback and ensured it is fixed.

Crusted Spicy Water Chestnuts

Nigiri Tuna One of the few places that serve Sushi so we wanted to try it, my friend who is not used to eating sushi didn’t like it at all. I however enjoyed it with the pickled ginger, wasabi & soya sauce. Chef Francis Lim has worked in many 5 star establishments and an expert in Oriental Cuisine

Nigiri Tuna

For the Main course we went ahead and ordered for the Paneer Tikka Biryani and it was very tasty and flavorful, the paneer pieces were well marinated and soft. It was mildly spicy and went well with the raita and mirchi ka salan

Paneer Tikka Biryani

Overall: Taste, Quality were top notch no doubt on that. Quantity Vs Price is what would be a deterrent for me, it is a fine dine definitely but on the higher side for the quantity we were served

Reviews

Little Dragon

Posted on September 6, 2016

Big things come in small packages and that saying is apt for this place. A small place which serves delicious lip smacking Chinese delicacies at affordable prices. The place is run by Mahesh who has tremendous amount of experience in handling different cuisines and also associated with Swathi Tiffin Center outlets across the city.

Ambiance: Very little to speak of , 3 wooden bench style tables – 1 inside and 2 outside and can accommodate 12-15 people on average, A glass partition inside where you can see the kitchen and the chefs are busy at work making your order, A small table fan which takes care of all the three tables. Not much to look at but you can also park your car and get served in it or go for take away if the outdoor style seating is not appealing for you

Location: Vijaynagar Colony, Lane beside St.Ann’s School, easily visible on the road

Food: My First tryst with this place was when a close friend of mine asked me to try the food at this outlet as he had heard great reviews from another friend. So both of us decided to explore this place and try their offerings.

Landed for dinner on 18^th Aug’16 and asked for suggestions from the waiter, as we wanted boneless chicken and little crunchy we were suggested to go for Pepper Chicken and for the main course he suggested that we try their Chinese Chopsuey with Red Sauce which is tasty and spicy, authentic is white which is also served if asked for. Got the pepper chicken and it was crunchy and flavorful just as the waiter had mentioned, then came the Chopsuey and then everything went in a different direction altogether in the best possible way. The noodles were crisp and fried properly, the gravy was piping hot and with enough amounts of spices to get rid of any cold you may have, the boiled vegetables (Cauliflower, Mushroom, Beans, etc) were soft and easy to eat and the chicken was tender as well. Since we had asked for Spicy version we definitely got our money’s worth.

Pepper Chicken

Chinese Chopsuey

Subsequent visits had me try their Chilly Chicken, Schezwan Fried Rice where the chilly chicken gravy turned out to be one of the best ones I have had in recent times in that price range, Schezwan fried rice was okay and had nothing extra ordinary to boast about but at that price range it is certainly a nice option

Chilly Chicken

Schezwan Chicken

Place is 3 years old and expansion plans are in progress to increase the seating and move the kitchen further inside where they used to have their store room, addition of Indian cuisine and early morning south Indian tiffins & evening chat bhandar are also being explored.

Already a fan of their Chinese food, will have to wait and watch what they would come up with next which I am sure would be worth it.

Reviews

Khaan Saab (Gachibowli)

Posted on September 5, 2016

Restaurant Visit Date: 25^th Aug 2016

Time: Lunch

Ambiance: A nice elaborate setup which can be expected out of any BJN food franchise with nicely done up interiors , a giant elephant statue on the entrance, 3 flaming charcoals LED display and 3 PDR’s whose focus was aimed to attract the corporate crowd of Hitec and Gachibowli and their for private dining. During our time there I had noticed 3 corporate groups of 10+ members each busy chitchatting and catching up on team lunches.

Food: 4 fellow foodies gathered along with me on a Thursday lunch as we had received rave reviews from others about the food. What followed was a roller coaster ride in terms of taste

What happened? Read on…. To know more

The first thing that I look and order when I visit a restaurant is the mocktails, Order one immediately and then leisurely look at the starters and main course while they get you your drink. Here I was hugely disappointed 3 mocktails on the menu and all of them turned out to be below expectations

Apple Pineapple ka Panna – Tasted like Panipuri water, made me doubt as to what exactly was served

Apple Pineapple ka Panna

Badam Thandai – Almost no taste of badam more of saffron, so strong that it was overpowering everything else, couldn’t finish the glass and I was using it as a palate cleanser between dishes

Badam Thandai

Sodewali Shikanjvi – Masala Nimbu pani was a tad better than the other two mocktails

Sodewali Shikanjvi

If the start of the lunch was this poor, the expectations for the remainder of the meal looked dismal

Moving on to the Starters:

Malai prawns were decent in taste, a little overdone as there were charred at few places but still tasty. I found it to be expensive for such a small quantity Rs.490 for 6-7 pieces (size of the prawns was small and the ingredients in use are not that expensive to warrant that price)

Malai Jhinga

Lal Mirch ka Teekha Tikka was supposed to be spicy just by the name itself and it was anything but spicy, the chicken appeared to have been just taken out of cold storage and made in a hurry as the chicken didn’t thaw properly and was watery when cut

Lal Mirch ka Teekha Tikka

Tunde Kebab was a disappointment; the slight crispiness of the outer portion was not there as it wasn’t grilled/barbecued properly. The meat was soft no doubt but so finely done and without or less of a binding compound made it break into smaller pieces and difficult to eat

Tundey Kebab

The Manager replaced it with Talahuwa Gosht which was not so great either as the meat was not marinated properly and the flavor didn’t reach into the meat

Tala Hua Gosht

Main Course:

For the Main course we ordered Rogan Josh & Murgh kali mirchi ka tikka masala along with assortment of breads. Rogan josh turned out to be much better than I had hoped going by the poor starters we had few minutes back, Murgh kali mirchi was nice and flavorful as well. Both of them fared well with the Hari Mirchi ka Paratha (My Fav of the lot) , Pudina Paratha, Garlic Naan, Malai Paratha, Burani Paratha

Rogan josh

Murgh Kali mirch ka tikka masala

Assortment of Naan’s

Meal is not complete without some rice so ordered for Murgh Parat Biryani which was cooked and served in Parat (Vessel) , chicken pieces were well marinated and the rice was flavorful, it didn’t require any accompaniments

Murgh Parat Biryani

Desserts:

We were not that interested in Desserts when we were informed that Malai Kulfi was not available, we ordered Litchi ke tehri and it didn’t hit the right notes on the taste and sweetness front so we decided not to experiment anymore.

Litchi ki tehri

The manager insisted that we try single portions of the remaining desserts that they had in stock.

Gajar ka halwa scored top points as it was tasty with just the right amount of sweetness, followed by Qubani ka meetha which had nice and sweet apricots, Gulab Jamun for a change turned out to be good as well

Gajar ka Halwa

Kubani Ka Meetha

Overall Verdict: Less options in mocktails , Average/Bad Starters followed by Good Main Course and Desserts failed to garner any promote ability from me.

Reviews

Up The Bistro

Posted on August 21, 2016

The word bistro means a small restaurant serving inexpensive or moderately prices dishes in a decent setting.

Olive bistro first set the precedence by being one of the best in its class but it was anything but light on the pocket , there are few new ones which have come up in the recent months who are good i.e they are pocket friendly and don’t cost a bomb.

‘Up The Bistro’ a fairly new place was the talk of the foodie world and being promoted by Zubair who recently became the business manager at the restaurant.

Location: Near Maulana Azad University Lane Entrance , Beside the Gachibowli Flyover in the same building that houses Chinese Pavilion Restaurant

Ambiance : Located on the roof top just beside the road and the flyover , you would expect too much noise which apparently isn’t the case. It was bearable during the entire duration we were there. (7pm-9:30pm or so). They have four options for your seating comfort. Closed space which has A/C and a television screen if you want no noise and just want to enjoy your meal this is the place to be.

The open air covered roof top setup is ideal for the evening times and for enjoying hukkah and chatting with friends, a small setup in on the same floor which can be converted into a private dining area for families or couples who like to enjoy a romantic setup. Live bands & music session was setup in that space on more than one occasion in the recent past which unfortunately I was not part of.

A small staircase leads to the open terrace where you have additional seating available , breezy atmosphere at the top but dimly lit. Good for private parties and office treats

The interiors were done up well but it was not something unique or stood out as having an ultra-glam look

Feedback : Valet parking was not available and if you park in front of Café Coffee day , there is a possibility of getting stuck if someone double parks and boxes you in

Food :

I wanted to try the food so I joined Karthik and Zubair for dinner one evening & we let Zubair select the dishes and ended up ordering Non-Veg Starters directly which were

Asian Chilli Chicken, Chilli lamb, Delhi Fried Chicken, Talawa Gosht,

Talahuwa Gosht

Chilli Lamb

Asian Chilli Chicken

Delhi Fried Chicken

Almost all the dishes were good, but didn’t give me a wow feel to it. Standard run of the mill tried and tasted similar dishes elsewhere. A dish which makes me crave coming back again and again was not these unfortunately, will have to try their remaining offerings to update the review accordingly

Talawa Gosht had the mutton pieces a little undercooked, a minute more on the pan would have made it better.

Main Course : Ordered some Butter Naan & Chicken Lababdar, it was tasty and flavorful then we tried the Tawa Biryani, if you do not compare it with the regular dum biryani then it is much better. Biryani was tasty and can hold its own and didn’t require any accompaniments

Tawa Biryani

Chicken Lababdar

Desserts: Blueberry cheese cake was amazing, having had that in so many places across India and Abroad. It came as a pleasant surprise when i took the first bite, it was moist and creamy with a soft crust. It is one of the dishes on the menu that is a must have on all accounts.

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Starters were good, main course better & last but not the least the dessert stole the show & sealed the deal for me

Articles

Tolichowki Food Guide

Posted on July 24, 2016

The next best thing after Charminar area to satiate your food craving is the Tolichowki food court which has become a food haven for the foodies offering a multitude of cuisines to choose from.

The following is my guide to exploring the food scene in and around Tolichowki area

Rumaan Hotel: A beef lover’s paradise, try their beef Haleem during Ramadan season or Khichdi Khatta Kheema(Beef) which is available as early as 5am in the mornings every day. Talahuwa Gosht , Beef biryani, Irani Chai are the other favorites you can try here.

*If love for food presides over the place and ambiance then visit this place & no family section available

Ice & Spice: One of the best places to try Chicken Shawarma, Veg Falafel, Veg and Non Veg Muttabbaq, Shawarma Sahan, Falafel Sahan, Arabian Shawarma

Al Zaara Mathbaq Al Mandi: One of the few places in Tolichowki area that serves Mandi in the traditional setup of sitting on the floor and eating food in a big plate. Things to try here are Laham Mandi & Fish Mandi

*Family section lacks proper ventilation, service is slow & staff untrained

4 seasons: A place where you get good Indian and Arabic food, try their Mezze platters from the exclusive menu section, Arabic mixed grilled platter or Sea food platter as the starters, Khabsa laham, Laham Mandi , Chicken or Mutton Biryani as the main course, followed by Umm ali , Badami Kheer or Qubani ka meetha as desserts. Huge seating area spanning 3 floors, but on weekends it is still not enough, option to book a table in advance is available

Mak’s Kitchen: Try their Patthar ka Gosh (Available in the evenings) ,Chapli Kebab & Chinese dishes. Not so crowded, good place for quiet family dinners

Shah Ghouse: During Ramadan, Haleem is a must try and do not forget to try their Khichdi Khatta & Kheema available at 3am for Sehri (Meal time before fasting begins). During normal days the same Khichdi Khatta & Kheema is available from 5 am onwards along with Nihari,Paya, Zabaan, Gurda Bhaji

They serve Biryani from 11:30-12pm onwards till 2-3am in the night and a definite thing to try here along with the Chai and the kebab platter

Siddique Kebab Center: Strapped for cash then this is the place to be, amazing food at low prices. You get grilled chicken, chicken fry, chicken 65, kebabs, tandoori chicken. Small menu but every items is tasty

Mandar: Specializes in Indian, Mughlai & Chinese and now Arabic as well. You can try their Biryani and Mandi

Kabul Darbar: Opened few weeks back and serves the same menu as the lakdi ka pul branch. Things to try is the Sajji grill chicken & their kebabs

Nice Juice Center: Famous for their savories, chaats, juices and fruit salad’s. All the items on the menu are good, few which stand out are Mulberry with cream, Taftian, Arabian Salad, Dry fruit shakes, sitaphal juice, Chilgoza, Majuma zalzala

These are little further away from Tolichowki but worth being on this post

Mohammedia Shawarma: Located at Retibowli , this place serves good chicken shawarma’s in all three variants of bread (Samoli- Hot dog bun, Rumali Roti , Khuboos – Pita Bread) , try their special shawarma which has just meat and no vegetables

Marhaba: A popular Arabic food outlet serving Shawarma, Mutabbaq, Arabic shawarma & Mandi and all items on the menu are good to try

Al Hejaz: A budget friendly sandwich shop which serves middle eastern cuisine, small menu and all items are good to try, recommended is to try their falafel sabbah which is basically a falafel & egg sandwich

Reviews

Sahib’s Barbeque by Ohri’s

Posted on June 30, 2016

Ohri’s theme based restaurant’s are always a crowd puller and Sahib’s barbecue is no different. We jumped at the chance of doing an event here looking at the ambiance and the menu

Close to 45+ foodies descended down on a Saturday evening to savor their offerings which began with the iftar. People who were fasting were provided with a fruit basket with watermelon, pineapple, dates etc. Slowly the foodies started walking in and then things went into high gear

Sufiyana singers at the back belting out amazing melodies, the smoky smell of the barbeque all around, the loud discussion about the food and the constant running around of the management and the admins set the tone for a great event which followed.

The food review below is my experience based on all the items I had tried at the event

Starting with the welcome drinks – We had the Litchi drink which unfortunately got over quickly and was replaced by Kiwi and both were refreshing.

Started with the Marag, the flavor was okay but it could have been better if it was spicy the way that is served across traditionally at the Muslim wedding. The chef was very eager to learn about different ideas on how to improve this and shows his commitment to bringing better food to the table

I am not a fan of mutton but enjoy it sometimes when it is made nicely and coincidentally I was offered Lukhmi as the first item on my plate. The first bite got me into pure ecstasy as the filling inside was minced mutton which was pan fried and was present from one corner to another. Every subsequent bite was pleasure and reminded of the lukhmi’s we used to have at weddings but this one been far better. Finished 4 pieces without batting an eyelid

Lucknowi tawa fish was served hot which was nice and tasty, but the talawa gosht was superb. It was the melt in the mouth type yummy. It went well with the Tauliya naan that was served on the table. The sight of the naan itself made everyone wonder if anyone can finish that much.

The Shikampuri kebab was bit dry but still flavorful, could have used a little more spice to add zing to it.

The Tangdi sikandari came out of the kitchen skewered on a sword(talwaar) and it was pipping hot and tasty. The murgh akbari kebab, Gosht gilafi sheekh and the darbari jhinga all three of which were on the barbecue were amazing in taste.

Moving to the main course

Dum biryani unfortunately was not that great. The taste and the texture of the rice lacked the biryani spice and smell. Possibility of keeping the biryani hot for too long might have played a part in this. All of the folks were concentrating on the starters and barbecue and went very late to check on the biryani.

Next was the Haleem, this unfortunately was a miss in terms of taste. The spiciness was missing, flavor was not evident at all. It could have used a little more garam masala to kick it up a notch. Probably a bad day in the kitchen

Haleem

Murgh dum ka and Ghost lazeez were the better choice for the main courses. The meat was well cooked and the taste was amazing.

Coming to the desserts section

I started with the Ice creams which everyone was raving about ” the guntur chilli ice cream” and the ” Paan icecream” . They were just amazing. The chilli effect only starts once the ice cream is going down your throat, the after taste is spicy and I loved it. The double ka meetha was better than expected. The jauzi halwa was okay, didn’t feel that it was that great.

Special mention to the number of pickles present at the buffet table. Tried all of them and loved each and every one. From Mango to lemon to gongura to chilli , everything was well made.

Overall the food was great in terms of few dishes and just good to average for the remaining but nothing that can be termed as bad

Articles

The Naan & Roti Chronicles

Posted on June 25, 2016

Differences between Roti, Naan, Chapati, Paratha, Kulcha & host of other breads out there?

Major difference is where it is made: Usage of Tandoor/Clay Oven would make it fall under the Naan style of making category & Usage of Concave Iron Griddle(Tava) makes them fall in the Roti’s style of making category.

Naan’s preparations have processed flour (Maida) leavened with yeast which results in the thick or puffed up look, where as the roti’s, phulka’s,chapathi’s are whole wheat thin bread unless you are using fillings or experimenting with different flours or yeast

Paratha – Means layers of atta, thick round flat bread popular in the north of India & made on the Tava

Chapati/Phulka – A thin flat bread made on the tava, it has very little or no salt used in its preparation so as to support the Indian spicy dishes. The word Chapat which means to slap, forms the basis of slapping the dough between your fingers and making it into round shape

Roti– The term roti means bread in Sanskrit and the preparation style is the same as Chapati. There are different methods of making Chapati/Roti. One is on direct flame and another is semi cooked on tava and then completed on direct flame, while the popular third one is directly on the tava

Naan – The word Naan refers to all breads but the Hyderabadi naan is perceived differently. It is called Sheermal in many parts of Lucknow and Northern States but it is not the sweet version what we get here in terms of our Naan. The few varieties available are:

The Square Naan – Called the Char Koni Naan, One of the most popular variants of Naan , designed in such a way that it can easily be torn into four pieces. Saving of food , avoiding waste and sharing the bread among others on the same table were some of the reasons for its design. This is served with Nihari as an accompaniment
The heart shaped Naan – It is popularly served during weddings, majorly as an accompaniment to the Marag (Mutton Broth/Spicy Mutton Soup). No need to explain the significance of heart shape at a wedding
The Star Shaped, Oblong shape and the round shape are only available on custom bulk orders for weddings or functions.

Naan (Square Naan or the Char koni Naan)

Kulcha – Clay oven is used to make this popular thick round bread, originated in Punjab and usually made with stuffing’s of vegetables and meat

Kulchay

Sheermal – A circular bread which is slightly sweet as it is kneed with milk. It goes well with Khoorma or Quorma during weddings

Sheermal

There are always exceptions to the above, few of them are:

Tandoori Roti – Ingredients of a Roti but made in a Tandoor hence the name

Tandoori Roti

Rumali Roti – An inverted concave iron griddle or wok surface is used to make the famous roti which when folded looks like a Rumal (Handkerchief). Origins of which are credited to Hyderabad during the Nizam’s rule who used to wipe excess oil off his hands after a heavy oil laden meal using this.

Old Forklore which you probably won’t find on the net: A lavish dinner was thrown by the Nizam for the British, during the course of the dinner a senior dignitary arrived and the Nizam in a hurry to greet him wiped his hands clean using whatever he could find nearby, which incidentally was this roti which looked a kerchief, hence the name stuck

Rumali Roti

Rumali Roti

Please feel free to drop me a line on my blog if you have any suggestions or comments about the article

Articles

Mashad Haleem

Posted on June 15, 2016

Mashad haleem

Mashhad(This is the actual spelling of the place) is a popular city in Iran and the word in Arabic means “place of martyrdom”.

Iran primarily has harees being served across during Ramadan and this Mashad available in Hyderabad also underwent the same transformation locally from harees to haleem as the normal Iranian haleem did.

Addition of Garam Masala powder with cardamom,cinnamon,black pepper pods etc. supposedly imported from Iran & most importantly boiled & soft boneless chunks of mutton are added almost at the end of haleem making process so that it doesn’t get mashed up into the wheat. This depends on vendor to vendor to make it spicy or bland

The addition of the above spices and the addition of ghee,cream along with fried onions, cashew-nuts,almonds,mint add a different flavor to it.

What to expect: If you like mutton then you would love this variant of haleem, very less amount of bones with good chunks of mutton.Be careful not to bite on the cinnamon or cardamom pods, the ones from Iran (In case if they do import) are of strong flavor and might ruin your taste.

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Taher Syed

Nice Juice Centre – Tolichowki

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V Junction Global Eatery

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Capital Kitchen

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Little Dragon

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Khaan Saab (Gachibowli)

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Up The Bistro

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Tolichowki Food Guide

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Sahib’s Barbeque by Ohri’s

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The Naan & Roti Chronicles

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Mashad Haleem

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