South Indian food stall makes foray into Barkas

HYDERABAD: South Indian food is making its foray into Barkas, a neighbourhood predominated by the Arab community, located in the southern side of the city. Two entrepreneurs, Ibrahim and Mustafa, in their 30s, are the first to start an eatery offering idli, dosa and vada in the mornings in the locality with about 500 families. These families are related to the tribes from Yemen and Saudi Arabia who had migrated during the Nizam era to the princely State of Hyderabad.

Mr Ibrahim and Mr Mustafa started the eatery a month ago and have reported good business. “We were hesitant to start  the business here as the fear of failure haunted us. Now we are happy with our earnings and plan to continue here,” said Mr Ibrahim. Barkas is famous for its harees, a dish similar to haleem, sharwarma (a snack prepared with bread and minced meat) and mandi, an Arabian dish cooked with rice and meat.

The tiffin centre starts around 6 am and the duo winds up by noon. “Senior citizens who come for the Fajr prayers visit our eatery. Next the youngsters line up and of course a few stop over to collect parcels too,” Mr Mustafa said. Mr Abdul Rahim Bavazir, a resident of Barkas, said that people who were avoiding oily food went to the eatery. Generally, the locals consume a lot of non-vegetarian food.

“They are going for lighter food for breakfast to cut down the intake of oil,” he said. Several eateries offering south Indian food have come up across the Old City; the Udupi eatery opened up in Barkas only recently. “At times, people bought the south Indian fare from Udupi hotels located at Chandray-angutta, 2 km away. Now they can get it in the locality itself. We have asked the owners to maintain hygiene,” said Mr Talha Kaseri, a local leader.