Hyderabadi Biryani Fading Out?

It is an invasion of a different kind.

First the Chinese, and now the Arabs are attacking an integral part of Hyderabadi identity.

The pride of the city, the biryani of Hyderabad, is gradually being edged out from restaurants and hotels in the city itself.

Though not directly responsible, the Arabs and the Chinese are being cursed by the 'Ustads' (chefs) who say that fast food is partly responsible for more and more restaurants and hotels replacing Hyderabadi biryani with shawarma, fried rice and noodles.

They claim that the public itself prefers shawarma (a sandwich made of bread and filled with layers of meat) or Chinese fast food. The hoteliers claim that the rising prices of essentials have put the biryani out of reach for a person who eats out every day.

Compared to the biryani which is sold at an average of Rs. 100, Chinese and Arabian food are sold at around Rs. 30, depending on where you buy it.

Biryani hotels, once ubiquitous, are now gradually making way for fast food stalls on their premises, while shawarma centres are cropping up around the city.

One hotel owner revealed that profit margins had increased drastically ever since he had turned to selling shawarma. Chand Bhai turned his biryani hotel at Mallepally into a Chinese fast food-cum-Arabian-shawarma stall. He says, "Ever since I decided to switch over, I am very glad. The business has increased by leaps and bounds. Every day I get around 20-30 kgs of chicken and the same quantity of lamb's meat. These are sold out by the end of the day."

The chicken shawarma is sold for Rs. 30 to Rs. 35, and the mutton shawarma is priced at Rs. 40 to Rs. 45. For the hotel owners, the best part is that there are customers waiting at any given point of the day.

Chand Bhai added, "Besides this, the 30-40 kgs of noodles that I get in the morning is sold out by around 10 pm. Business reaches its peak during lunch time, and we even find customers waiting just to place their orders."

He said that the hotel's daily income touched around Rs. 2,000 per day.

On the other hand, the 'Ustads' are a frustrated lot. Once in huge demand, they are now being only engaged for weddings and other functions.

"I remember very well that till 1999, there were approximately 100 biryani hotels, large and small, in the city. Most of our customers consisted of auto-rickshaw drivers and office-going people. They used to prefer having biryani, and some in fact, wanted to taste it before returning home. But these days, the 'alternative' foods are gradually edging out biryani, especially when the hotels are patronizing the customers," laments Dastagir Ustad.

Courtesy: INN