The restaurant is teeming. The Great Kabab Factory at the Radisson Blu Plaza on the National Highway 8 attracts foodies the year round but the occasion here is the Hyderabadi Food Festival. A splendid mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian from the Deccan take you on a delightful culinary journey with the chef, Meraj Ul Haque guiding you along.
Haque hails from the famous family of chefs from Lucknow. “Hyderabadi food has attracted food lovers all over the world. Lucknow has its own place in the world of kababs. I love to experiment and this is an attempt at reaching out to the food lovers of Capital keeping in mind their tastes,” says Haque.
The tables are taken up and the ambience suits the occasion. The only stale feature is a recorded Indian Premier League (IPL) match on the huge TV screen since it has rained in Hyderabad. But this is not the occasion to soak in cricket. The kababs and tikkas hold your attention.
I begin with the mouth-watering galouti kababs. They just melt in your mouth. They are followed by haideri seekh and kalimirch jheenga. The galouti kababs, I am told, are in great demand. One has to wait before the next helping but Andhra machchi tikka keeps me busy. The starters are tempting and obviously filling.
The vegetarian offerings are no less tempting –– subz galouti kabab, lazzat paneer tikka, imli aur curry pattey ke aloo with saufiyani salad –– but I stick to the non-vegetarian delights. A foreign tourist at the adjacent table is enjoying the bhagare baigan and heeng jeere ke dal and looking to take down the recipe.
In Hyderabad, there are any number of restaurants, each claiming to be masters in specialities like haleem, nihari and biryani. The layered biryani, of course, is the major attraction and the demand for takeaways too has grown in the past few years.
For Haque the challenge was to serve food that satiated the palate of Delhites. “Spice was the ingredient I had to be careful with. People in Hyderabad want their food to be spicy. But not in this part of the country. I had to get a proper mix and I think the response has been heartening.”
The next round brings haleem and gosht biryani. Two specialities from Hyderabad. The haleem, as Haque points out, is far less spicy than what you get in Hyderabad, especially during Ramzan. But the gosht biryani is simply outstanding. The succulent meat transports me to Hyderabad where some of the small outlets in old city offer the best of biryani.
The aroma at The Great Kabab Factory is enticing for the foodies, some of who have waited for a table. For me, the innings is nearing its end with double ka meetha, one of the desserts of the day. There is seviyan and chukunder ka halwa too but nothing to match the double ka meetha. For me, Hyderabad has come to Delhi with Haque doing an excellent job. The TV screen comes alive with Sunrisers Hyderabad taking the field at the Uppal Stadium. The ambience is symbolic. And perfect.
