Hyderabadi hotels serve sumptuous ‘Sehri’

Hyderabad: At half past three in the morning, the aroma of malai paya, kebabs, warqi parata, khichdi khatta, and kheema or gurda fills the air around Tolichowki, Mallepally, Chaderghat, and parts of the Old City. Scores of people, from teens to the elderly, gathered at the restaurants to partake of ‘Sehri’ or ‘Suhoor’, the pre-dawn meal during the month of Ramzan. Plates laden with roti, rice, and different types of curry are kept ready to be served for the meal.

At Hotel Nayaab near the Madina building, it is malai paya and parata, rice, and bhajigurda, and the Iqbal Hotel at Purani Haveli serves khichdi, khatta, and kheema for those observing fast. Food courts in Tolichowki, Mallepally have kebabs, laccha parata, marg, and types of mutton and chicken curries.

Now that the 30-day month of fasting is into its last 10 days, and following special prayers, a huge influx of Muslims look forward to the hotels and restaurants having their Sehri with a variety of dishes. People these days have shown a lot of interest in having Sehri meals instead of having the same home-cooked options in the meal.

Hotels and restaurants are providing a variety of dishes in the Sehri special meal, including Lucky Group of Hotels, Pista House, Shadab, Dine Hill, Pariwar Dhaba, Peshawar, Azeebo, Shah Ghouse, Capital Multi Cuisine, Sohail, Imperial, Rumaan, and Reedan, among others.

However, the Hyderabadis could not stay away from food, especially during Ramzan. It is said that Hyderabad is famous for its divinely delicious cuisine, and one can have a variety of meals.

In Hyderabad, there is a wide variety of several lip-smacking dishes such as khichdi-khatta, talawa gosht, bhaji-gurda, bhejha, bagara khana-dalcha, kheema roti, khatti daal, shahi nalli dal, and mutton tahari. Famous restaurants also provide various combos and buffets. Moreover, platters like sehri thali and bahubali thali, among others, are for food lovers.

Murtuza Mohsin, a Hyderabad food blogger, said that earlier, people used to have their Sehri at home and occasionally with friends in hotels like Hotel Shadab, Nayab, Madina, Ajwa, and Iqbal, who served khichdi-katta, bagara khana-dalcha, and kheema for several years.

“Hotels and restaurants are now taking their provisions to the next level and are even offering ‘Sehri-special’ menus. These are available from 2:30 am to 4:30 am, these new menus certainly add flavour to the already wide variety of dishes available in Hyderabad in Ramzan,” he added.

Tariq Omer, a foodie, said, “Such dishes cannot be missed in Ramzan, as these dishes are not available during normal days.".

Syed Ali Raza Kazmi, an owner of Lucky Group of restaurants, said, “We are seeing long queues of people waiting to have the famous khichdi-khatta with kheema and dal rice with chicken curry. Moreover, dishes like dum ka kheema, bheja, and gurda, among those dishes that are preferred now-a-days by the Hyderabadis in their Sehri meals,” he added.

Another popular hotel, Nayab, near the Madina building, serves famous malai paya, achari mutton, and other dishes for a Sehri meal. Omer, the owner of the hotel, said there are long lines to have the famous malai paya.

“People of all sets of communities are eating their meals late at night during Ramzan. They wait for the Muslims to finish their Sehri before they begin eating, as everyone wants a taste of ‘Sehri-specials’,” he added.

Murtuza said, “With various dishes available, people are enjoying food. Also, families are thronging eateries to have their meal, and the dishes were finished before 3 am. During the non-business hours, the hotels are doing business by serving a variety of other dishes,” he added.