This Ramzan, Hyderabadi Haleem may just turn out to be the most sought delicacy in Andhra Pradesh.
Ramzan begins on Monday; however, at fortnight before the Islamic holy month, several hotels have set up special “bhattis” (ovens) to prepare the Hyderabadi dish.
Interestingly, bifurcation of the state had made haleem, the most favourite dish of the locals, Hindus, Muslims and Christians across Andhra Pradesh.
Last Ramzan in united AP, there were only a handful of haleem centres in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra, but this year, the number has add to three-fold and hoteliers expect heavy sales.
The division of state has not disallowed expert chefs of the famous dish to visit coastal towns to oversee making of haleem during Ramzan.
Owners of many biryani points and non-veg food joints waited for the tantrums in both states to settle down before striking deals with the well-known chefs from the common capital city of Hyderabad.
Even though, the trend of setting up exclusive biryani points in the name of `Hyderabadi Biryani’ caught the coastal districts about three years ago, expert chefs were not readily available in the region to make haleem, a special non-vegetarian dish served only during Ramzan.
“Initially, we thought chefs from Hyderabad may hesitate to visit Vijayawada in view of the prevailing political situation in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and delayed booking them.
However, they did not show any apprehensions about visiting coastal districts and readily accepted our offer,” said Mohammed Saleem, a haleem point owner in One Town area of Vijayawada.
A team comprising master chef and eight helpers, also includes assistant chefs are paid around Rs 1.5 lakh for a month, apart from free lodging.
Local non-vegetarian chefs have good contacts with haleem chefs in Hyderabad and they play crucial role in roping in the team of chefs for various biryani points in coastal Andhra, and Rayalaseema.
As many as 40 haleem centres have been all set across Vijayawada city and 30 centres in Guntur city.
Similar centres have come up in Anantapur, Visakhapatnam, Kadapa, Kurnool and Nellore.
Though, the price of the haleem is yet to be fixed as owners are still working out of the financial intricacies. Last year a bowl of 350 gram of haleem was sold for Rs 120 and prices are expected to go up a little this time.
Pista i House and Bawarchi are also gearing up to open their outlets in parts t of coastal Andhra. In fact, the Bawarchi opened outlets in small towns like Machilipatnam and Tenali last year.
“There is high craze for h haleem from all sections of people and this makes it an s instant hit,” said Shaik Rasool, a trained haleem chef of Guntur.