Hyderabad develops a taste for middle east food

DECCAN CHRONICLE | S.A. ISHAQUI

Published Dec 6, 2015, 6:53 am IST

Stephen of Deccan Engineering College also depends on shawarma for lunch during college hours

 Low fat food: Chicken pieces being scraped at Mataam-Al-Arabi restaurant in Barkas. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Several new food joints are offering cuisine from the Middle East in areas like Mehdipatnam, Humayunnagar, Tolichowki, Banjara Hills, Mallepally, Falaknuma, Barkas and others parts of the city.

These food joints mainly serve dishes like Laham Mandi, Laham Khabsa, and Laham Majbooz, apart from the Shawarma, a Turkish starter familiar in the Middle East.

Mr Abdullah Bin Masood Bashadi, owner of Mataam-Al-Arabi restaurant, said Laham means meat in Arabic and Laham Mandi dish is prepared with lamb meat, or beef and rice.

He said Laham Khabsa is also prepared with meat and rice. Mandi is served with boiled meat and Khabsa is served with fried meat and Laham Majbooz is similar to biryani.

Time to binge: Customers relish Arabic food at Mataam-Al-Arabi restaurant in Barkas.   (Photo:  DC)

“We started our eatery about five years ago in Barkas. Software professionals, doctors, politicians, businessmen and film stars including actor-politician Jayasudha are our regular customers,” he added.

He said “We also serve a dish called Faham which contains either grilled or fried meat, fish or bater (quail). We serve Mandi either with grilled or fried fish (royal basa of Vietnam) or meat keeping in view the preference of Hyderabadis for spicy food.”

There is a dampener for vegetarians. He said that as of now many restaurants have not made an effort to introduce Arab vegetarian dishes in the city. 

A few restaurants are serving Masoub, a sweet banana-based breakfast dish made from a base of over-ripe bananas and ground flatbread, and Mutabbaq, a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread.

Restaurants in the city are offering traditional Arab deserts like Aseed, a sweet dish made with jaggery and wheat flour, and Umm Ali, a bread pudding.

Shawarma is a meat (chicken, mutton and beef) preparation, where the meat is grilled for as long as a day rolled into flat bread called khubus (pita bread) or rumali roti and dressed with sauces, explained Mr Shaik Iliyas, a shawarma maker at MB Food Junction in Falaknuma of the Old City.

Mr Mohsin Alkaseri, a resident of Barkas, said, “Hyderabadis who returned from Saudi a decade ago first introduced shawarma here. Now it is easily available everywhere in the new city and also in Secunderabad.”

Health-friendly Arab foods hit among city youngsters

Many youngsters say they prefer Mediterranean cuisine as it is less oily and spicy. Jibran Asif Shareef, a student of MJ Engineering College, who is fond of Mandi, said, “It is less spicy and less oily when compared with our traditional Deccani non-vegetarian dishes.”

Yaser Shareef, a graduate from Anwar-Ul-Uloom College, said “I always finish my lunch during college hours with shawarma. I can buy it for just `50 along with a cola, which suits my pocket and the food joint id close to my college.”

Stephen of Deccan Engineering College also depends on shawarma for lunch during college hours.

The upscale restaurants located in Banjara Hills and Masab Tank have been serving Lebanese dishes like tabbouleh (a salad made with tomatoes, couscous and olive oil), fattoush (toasted pita bread salad),uzi (whole lamb rice), baklava (dry fruit filled pastry), and kunafa (cheese pastry soaked in sugar syrup) apart from mandi, khabsa and aham majbooz.

How it is done

Masoub

Ingredients
l 3-4 very ripe bananas
l 2-3 fla breads
l 10-15 sliced almonds
l 1 tbs golden raisins/ dates (optional)
l 1 tbs fresh cream
l 2 tbs honey
l 1/4 cup whole milk

Preparation
Peel, mash and place the bananas in a  bowl. Coarsely grind the bread using a blender or food grinder. Add to the banana mash and mix well. The ratio of banana to bread should be 50:50. Make mixture slightly stiff and add milk if it’s very thick. Spoon the banana mixture into a serving dish and smooth out on top. Add raisins, almonds, low-fat fresh cream and honey on top. Heat the Masoub in a microwave oven for 30 seconds if desired.

Masoub

Baklva