Hyderabad: Bagara Khana-Dalcha makes a comeback in hotels

Hyderabad: It’s Friday and if you are in any local hotel in the old city, the aroma of Bagara rice prepared in hotel kitchens is sure to attract you.

Bagara Khana with Dalcha or Khorma as a combination is fast catching up in Hyderabad with several hotels preparing it on Friday. With increasing demand, it has now become a commonly sold dish at least on Fridays unlike earlier. Biryani is otherwise the number one dish sold across restaurants here.

Initially available at a handful of hotels for lunch on Fridays, a number of local hoteliers in Hyderabad are preparing Bagara rice-Dalcha. Muslims also consider Friday as a very auspicious day and large gatherings are witnessed at mosques for the afternoon congregational prayers. After attending prayers many meet with friends and prefer to have lunch at hotels.

It’s here the Bagara Khana concept stood up against the popular Biryani. “People did not want heavy spicy food for lunch and at least not Biryani which is costlier compared to Bagara Khana. So hotel managements started preparing Bagara Khana and serving it to customers,” said Mohd Shafeeq, a manager at a hotel at Bahadurpura in Hyderabad.

Bagara Khana is made with the super quality Basmati Rice in spicy water and served with Dalcha – a curry made of dal and bottle gourd. The tradition of making it began at a few prominent hotels at High Court road as well. Now, a plate of is priced around Rs. 120 all across Hyderabad.

As the dish gained popularity amongst people from Hyderabad, managements of other hotels started treating it as a “Friday Special” dish to lure customers. In a few hotels, Shaami Kebabs also are now prepared as an accompaniment along with Bagara Khana and Dalcha.

“The Bagara Khana – Dalcha combination picked up at the hotels in Hyderabad recently, due to which people carry parcels home as women are busy with the prayers on Friday noons,” said Farooq Ahmed, a hotel owner from Chandrayangutta.

A businessman from Khilwat, Shaik Nadeem, said the Bagara Khana and Dalcha combination is prepared with mutton are a hit at the hotels. “There is a competition between hotels nowadays with management trying to outwit the other in taste and pricing. Ultimately, it is the customers who benefit due to it,” he said.

A plate of Bagara  Khana costs between Rs. 40 and Rs. 80 depending on the hotel standard except upscale hotels where the price is over Rs. 100. In the old city, a few hotels are preparing the Bagara Khana Dalcha on regular days too. They accept orders for household functions and distribution at orphanages, old age homes and among footpath dwellers.