Old city’s munchies replaced by idli, dosa

Hyderabad: Scores of roadside eateries serving South Indian dishes like idli, vada, dosa and Mysore bhaji, from Abids to the Charminar in the old city, have brought about a paradigm shift in the food habits of people living in the old city.

These South Indian snacks are slowly replacing the traditional favourite snacks of Hyderabadis like lukhmi (a starter stuffed with kheema or vegetables), dil khush (bread stuffed with cake leftovers), dil pasand (stuffed with shredded coconut and tutti fruity), Irani samosa, chota samosa, Osmania biscuits, bun maska (sweet bread with butter) and tie biscuits.

The idli and vada have not only affected the popularity of traditional Hyderabadi snacks, but have also had an impact on traditional breakfast dishes like paya, nahari (dishes made with goat’s feet), and the roti and kulcha.

Earlier, Hyderabadis would go to restaurants like Anand Bhavan, Kamat and Taj Mahal in the twin cities to have dosa, idli and other South Indian food, but now these are available everywhere thanks to dosa bandis.

The push cart vendors are serving varieties of dosa, which include butter dosa, onion dosa, masala dosa, paper dosa, plain dosa, dry fruit dosa, egg dosa, ghee dosa, upma dosa and veg dosa.

“There are certain vendors in Abids, Mozamjahi Market and Charminar bus stop adjacent lane to Macca Masjid where we can find an autorickshaw driver, an IT engineer, a large groups of youngsters, rich businessmen, all like having dosa and idli at midnight,” said Syed Muneer Mohiuddin (Shujath), a realtor.

Remembering the chicken dosa that he had during Ramzan, Mohammed Akbar Sharif, a lab technician, said, “Till two years ago, we would hardly find one or two push cart dosa vendors in and round Charminar, that too in the morning hours, serving breakfast. Now we can find them on all streets around Charminar all day long.”

Rakesh, a small-time businessman at MJ Market, said “Ram’s dosa bandi at MJ Market has become a favourite spot for software professionals.

Ram starts his business at 3 am in the morning and finishes at 7 am. Most employees at software firms returning from night shifts visit the place in the wee hours to have snacks.”

Syed Faiaq Hussian, a hotelier, said “We are witnessing an increasing demand for dosa and idli. Certain Irani hotels are also serving dosa and idli in the morning to compete with bandiwalas.”

He added, “Last Ramzan, several hoteliers in the old city faced stiff competition from these pushcart dosa vendors as many preferred to experience the zaiqa (taste) of dosas apart from the delicious haleem. Many of us even set up stalls in some places of the old city to serve the South Indian snacks during Ramzan nights.”