Dec112021

Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel: Pice Hotel in Kolkata with a Legacy

“Pice hotels” are legacies from pre-Independence days in Kolkata. The budget eateries got their name from the fact that in early twentieth century full meals could be had here for one paisa. Though today the same does not hold true, these are rice and curry joints (known as “Bhater Hotel” in Bengali) where you can get fantastic Bengali meals at a very affordable price.The pice hotels perhaps were one of the first to define a-la-carte food – each of the items have to be ordered separately. If food is served in a banyan leaf, and water in an earthen pots, then even these have their prices, so too the wedge of lemon if you want it.There are quite a few such hotels all over the city of Kolkata, but some of them are particularly well-known, either for their food or sometimes even for their rich legacy. Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel, tucked inside a lane near College Street-MG Road Crossing is one which is known for both these. The hotel was set up in 1913 by an Odia migrant Man Gobinda Panda, catering to the large student population looking for affordable meals. Initially this place was...

Nov12021

Readymade Momos from Prasuma now at your doorsteps

I have been fond of momos ever since my younger days. Those days the dumplings from Tibet and Nepal were not as popular in the cities as they are today. Availability of momos in Kolkata where I grew up were restricted to a small hole in the wall place called “Hamro Momo” (if I remember correctly) between Elgin Road and Exide Crossing (known as “Chloride” those days). The momos there came with a fiery chilli chutney and a thin meat soup which was divine.As I started travelling to the mountains, I had more chances to try out momos, with different shapes and tastes. Ladakh to Himachal, Nepal to Sikkim and North Bengal, you have these beauties everywhere each with its own twist. As time passed, they travelled downhill to the plains with even small towns having their own momo places. Initially in Hyderabad, there was this small place Anne’s Kitchen in a lane next to Paradise. Now of course, there are many more choices.Enough of rumblings and rememberances of this old man. What I want to talk about today is readymade momos at the convenience of your homes. If you are not adept at making momos...

Oct162021

Restaurants Reopen and New Menus Are In

September and October has seen restoration of quite a bit of normalcy in the food and beverages sector of Hyderabad. Many of the old restaurants have reopened again much to the relief and joy of their loyal customers. Footfalls have returned to quite an extent, though it still has a bit to go. Some restaurants have launched a new menu to attract new customers. And what is most redeeming is the fact that many new restaurants have opened up to replace some of the casualties of the recent turbulent period. The green shoots of food festivals were also seen with couple of star properties introducing them for the festive season. Of the few places serving cuisines of all the South Indian states in Hyderabad, Simply South by Chef Chalapathi Rao is definitely one of the most prominent. I have been a fan of multiple dishes here like Kamju Pitta (Quail), Peethala (Crab) Iguru, Kodi Koora and almost all the constituents of their Veg thali. The place had been temporarily closed ever since the start of Covid, and I was very happy to know from Chef Chalapathi Rao that they were reopening from September...

Sept122021

Random Food Musings from Hyderabad

The second wave seems to be behind us, though many are anticipating a new wave soon. A new normal now is to jump around between the waves and enjoy a little before the panchi is back in the pinjra. Revenge is the new buzzword with revenge dining and revenge travel ruling the roost. I am no exception to the trend, though some of my friends are predicting that the revenge jumping around going on will result in a big fat new wave. But now the attitude is Jo hoga dekha jayega.But let us cast that aside for a while and look at the F&B scene in our favourite city. The mayhem seems to have ebbed out, and people are back to the outlets. For the street and small places, it is almost business as usual, whereas the larger restaurants have also started getting some traction. What is most redeeming is that a few new places have started to come up making the scenario much more vibrant.I had just resumed dining out around December of 2020 but since April 2021 I have not been visiting restaurants much for obvious reasons. Though I had been feasting on takeaways and home deliveries all through...

Aug12021

For The best Hyderabadi food in Hyderabad

Recently at a Facebook live show, I was asked about the culinary map of Hyderabad. The question set me thinking. Over the last few decades, Hyderabad has very much become a cosmopolitan city. With the city becoming an IT hub, we now have representation of most of the national and international cuisines here. Significant numbers of the city population originally hail from different states and this has a lasting effect on the food being offered by different restaurants here. However, the charm of the original cuisines from the city still remains the major attraction to any visitor to the city of pearls.BiryaniSo, what all can be considered as the original cuisines of Hyderabad? In the recent chat with friend Rajesh Tara (you can see the Youtube video below), I expressed that Hyderabad is home to two-and-half different cuisines. The first and the most popular is of course Hyderabadi (Deccani) food, and this post talks about the leading places for this cuisine in the city. The food of the original inhabitants is what this city is known worldwide especially the signature Biryani. There are...