In conversation with Chef Aziz, who’s paying homage to traditional home-style Hyderabadi food at the Leela Hyderabad on Dawat-e-Hyderabadi food pop up at the Leela Hyderabad.What was the idea behind Dawat-e-Hyderabadi?First of all, I work in 5-star hotels. My full experience is in 5-star hotels. I have done many festivals over the years. I am basically from Hyderabad. My family background is in cuisine—Nawab’s food and all that. Bahadur Shah’s fourth generation is my brother-in-law. His mother is a big food lover, and I learned a lot of things from her. I have done food festivals every year. I have also done festivals outside India—in Malaysia too. I am a food lover myself. That’s how I came into this industry. I have done a good job. People really like my hand work. I can see there’s a lot of talk about this industry.Do you add modern twists to the traditional flavors?Traditional flavors, with my brother-in-law—he is a food consultant. I work with him. I learn a lot of things from his mother—what ingredients, which is what, health-wise. Everything I learn from them. But these modern people, they are very new. Modern people like different ways. And I converted to that. I try to make the taste more palatable. If the customer needs a different taste, I will try and keep him happy.Can you walk us through the significance of specific ingredients in Hyderabadi cuisine?When it comes to specific ingredients—it’s Paan ki jadi, khas ki jadi, Bhilave ki chironji, and kabab chini. And this is not used regularly by everybody. This is basically a Hyderabadi import. Some ingredients are added for digestion, for memory… something like that. I always carry the ingredients when I am visiting other states because you cannot get all the ingredients there to get the authentic Hyderabad taste.What role do slow-cooking techniques play in creating authentic Hyderabadi flavors?Actually to achieve authentic taste, slow cooking is required. For authentic Hyderabadi flavors, earlier they used to cook on wood fire. That flavor is totally different. But in 5-star hotels, we can’t do that—everything runs on gas. Still, we need to get that same taste. Technology is improving, and I also adapt with it. That’s a good thing, actually. We must adapt. Because whatever taste you want, I must give it. I also worked in America for 10 years. The owners came to India and asked for that same taste. But how can I? Water is different, weather is different—everything changes. Basically, we cannot recreate the exact thing. But I managed to do it.What are the must try dishes from the popup menu?Complete Hyderabadi dishes. I am a specialist in Hyderabadi cuisine. A to Z—soups, kebabs, biryanis, kormas, khaliyas—and everything including Nihari. Haleem is also very famous. And in the early morning, everyone eats Nihari with sheermal. That’s a good combination for breakfast. Fast and filling.
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