Hyderabad Marriott, Tank Bund Road, Secunderabad.
Hyderabadi cuisine, alas, is dying out. It was always available only in people’s homes, and never at "hotals". But the older generation of cooks in those homes are fading into the sunset, and their children are opting for other, more prestigious, careers. The daughters of those homes, meanwhile, don’t have the time to pursue the art with enough dedication. The result is that the food eaten in Hyderabad today is increasingly of the generic dal-chawal-chicken curry variety.
Bidri advertised itself as a repository of the Hyderabadi culinary tradition, so we went with great expectations. We ordered a typical meal of khushka (boiled rice), khatti dal, shikampur kabab, and jhinga with ambade-ki-bhaji. The shikampur tasted like it had been imported to Hyderabad via the cafes of New York’s Upper West Side. The jhinga, likewise. The khubani ka meetha was insipid, over-stewed and unrecognisable. The rice and khatti dal, however, were excellent. What Hyderabad needs is a version of Calcutta’s Bhojohori Manna, serving authentic ‘ghar ka khana’—preferably at ghar ke prices. It’s a great opportunity for someone. Meanwhile, for one of India’s great cuisines, time seems to be running out.
