By Swati Sucharita
It ended up as a joyous revival of the erstwhile Hyderabadi Nazakat, for those who know and appreciate the Nizami city’s cultural nuances.
Last week, when the management of Hyatt Place, Hyderabad hosted the launch of Masnad Pe Dawat, (literally translated as Feast on a Throne) by home chef par excellence Ms Dilnaz Baig, the pandemic-jaded guests lapped it all up, both the distinctly regal cuisine, (seen now only in elite Hyderabadi homes), the Nizami ambience and the robust qawwali performance.
“After the resounding success of her Hyderabadi food promotion at Grand Hyatt Kochi last year and having relished Ms Baig’s wonderful cuisine at a chowki dinner hosted at her home in Banjara Hills, we took the initiative of hosting our first major food promotion of 2022 with Masnad Pe Dawat,” announced Animesh Barat, the GM of Hyatt Place. The Royal Nizami food festival will be on until March 31st for both lunch and dinner, with special chowki dinner settings also available for minimum bookings.
Ms Baig, renowned for her elegant chowki dinners, listed by Conde Nast Traveller among India’s distinct dining experiences, talked about how Hyderabadi cuisine varies subtly across homes. “My cooking will obviously carry the influences of our home kitchen and our dishes will reflect what I grew up eating. My mother was a vegetarian by choice at a certain age of her life, but there was no special vegetarian dish cooked for her separately, she would just keep the meat aside. So, if you ask me what my greatest culinary challenge is, I will unhesitatingly say cooking a wholly vegetarian dish, except maybe Khatti Dal, Kaddu Ka Dalcha and Baghara Baingan, “she laughed, adding that one of her signatures, the Ande Ki Piyosi would be served for dinner that evening.
While the starters like Lukhmi (mutton, vegetable), Talawaa Machhi, Kheema kababs were served with cocktails, the main courses were served in silver service on the prettily decorated tables. Among the stunning dishes were Ande Tamatar Ke Kut, Aloo Ke Pasinde, the absolutely superb Jhinge Ka Salan, Kaddu Ka Dalcha, Mutton Dum Biryani, served with a very well-done Mirchi Ka Salan, Kulche. The best was however for the last with her self-declared signature dessert Ande Ki Piyosi, (a baked dish of eggs and khoya), which overshadowed the other two desserts served, Sheer Khurma and Qubani Ka Meetha.
“In all my seven years in Hyderabad, this has been the most enriching and educative experience of my career, getting to learn, up close and personal, an increasingly rare cuisine from one of the best-known and finest Hyderabadi home chefs in town. I am getting to learn how to source the best meat, we are using only potla (male) meat and from Ms Baig’s butcher in the Old City, so are the spices sourced from her own vendors. I have picked up a few rare gems, along the way, like the Zubaan Ka Paaya, and Ande ki Piyosi. Will you believe it when I say that her Piyosi recipe uses some 5 kgs of Khowa in 100 eggs, and yet comes so light, airy and fluffy, without the smell of eggs? It is finally the art and technique of cooking which make her food stand out,” remarks Gaurav Ramakrishnan, executive chef of Hyatt Place, Hyderabad.
Also resonating with the guests, which included Andrew Fleming deputy high commissioner of UK Andrew Fleming and Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary iT, Telangana, was the powerful qawwali rendition by the local Ateek Qawwali Group, which was also Ms Baig’s creative input, in fact she has founded the Shaam-E-Ghazal Hyderabad chapter.
The food promotion is on for lunch in a set menu sit-down format, priced at Rs 1199 plus taxes and for dinner in a buffet format priced at Rs 1599 plus taxes until March 31st, both are available in a chowki dinner format for minimum bookings. This is a whiff of nostalgia from the erstwhile Nizami era which cannot be missed for those who value epicurean experiences.
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