Ratna Chotrani/Hyderabad

Food business, design, and cricket form Qutub Alam Khan‘s universe, the scion of the Nawab Shah Alam Khan family, something that is hugely evident as he opens the doors to his modest yet classy eatery Chicha’s.From the outside, the restaurant may look like any other eatery, but inside it showcases the owner’s passion for all things ‘creative’.

Minute and yet elaborate details with an eclectic mix of décor mark each corner right from the main hall to the family dining area. The stunning pieces of art that lavishly adorn the walls go well with the immaculately dressed Qutub Alam Khan’s royal connections and his Nawabi family.

Even in his mansion there is so much to see –and that’s even before one catches a glimpse of some of the most incredible pieces from the heirloom –each item has a story to tell.

This St. George’s Grammar School alumnus has an impressive lineage. His grandfather Nawab Shah Alam Khan, was a famous Indian industrialist, educationist, and cultural connoisseur from Hyderabad. He was the Nawab who ran the famous Hyderabad Deccan Cigarette Factory and also the Chairman of the Anwar Ul Uloom Education Society. Like his ancestors, Qutub Alam Khan has an impressive line of businesses including real estate and restaurants; cricket remains his passion. 

With a family history, he could have easily dined at the best of restaurants in the City, but instead chose the hard way of preserving his legacy.  

Chicha's food

Embarking on the idea of opening a restaurant was perhaps the most challenging enterprise he had even taken up. Also, because his uncle Nawab Mehboob Alam Khan is a well-known food connoisseur and his dinner parties are legendry. Qutub Alam Khan had to meet those standards and he did it with elan with the paterfamilias approving his dishes on the menu.  

To see him standing at the counter and talking to customers is a humbling experience. Whether it is a cut of meat or the delicate flavours of the dessert spices, he knows it all. His Sundays could have been a for sharing exotic food with his family and friends at the dinner table. Instead, he chose to spend his weekends at his restaurant so that he could pass on his culinary heritage to the people of Hyderabad. He spends most of his time tracing the culinary heritage of his royal family and ensuring the authenticity of the food served.

His initial challenges began by finding the veritable ingredients and condiments which go into making the best of Biryani, kebabs, and other quintessential Hyderabadi food for the bon vivant.

For a person who was uninitiated in the art of cooking and had only observed others coming up with an array of family’s Indian food specialties like the Sofiyani Biryani, Hyderabadi Dum Biryani or even the Khatti Dal served with plain rice, Qutub Alam Khan has come a long way. His best decision was to use the cooking knowledge of his Uncle Nawab Mehboob Alam Khan.   

Founded in 2016 by Qutub Alam Khan and his partner friend Fauzan Khan, Chicha’s looks like a contemporary haveli but it seems, it’s set to replace some of the iconic restaurants for its food, be it the haleem - on the menu every Friday - served with the golden fried onions topped with pure ghee or the Patthar ka Ghosth (slivers of mutton marinated with green chilli paste, kebab chinni, and some spices) barbecued on a granite stone with embers of coal, or the Dum ki Biryani fired by wood and burnt embers on top, or even the ceviche (marine meat) that does not feel like a compromise. The menu’s most classic is the Dum Ki Biryani fringed with onions and Mirchi Ka salan. His appetizers Sheekh Kebab or the chicken kebab are textural marvels served hot, complex in spices and a judicious nod to acidity and heat.

If the House feels less like a restaurant, and more like a generous friend's airy alabaster bungalow, this is no happy accident. “I want all my guests to feel like they have come to my home,” says Nawab Qutub Alam Khan. Indeed the place was once his mother-in Laws home and the location undoubtedly holds nostalgia for him.

Qutub Alam Khan’s architect mind has transformed the place into a minimalist Laad bazaar (a market for bangles close to the historic Charminar in operation since the time of Qutub Shahis and Nizams) in the busy Lak-di Ka Pul area. His restaurant indeed is a bit of Charminar in contemporary Red Hills.

Also Read: Mentor, motivational speaker – Gen. Yash Mor lives life to the fullest

The bohemian courtyard, with wooden tables and comfortable seating to a staircase flanked by a serene monochromatic dining room with a table for a few bedecked with the artifacts from the times of the Nizam. An excellent spot for a family, with an option to spend the evening in a quiet atmosphere regaling in the lost times of royalty. The room has many possibilities be it private dinners or the speakeasy events or hedonistic birthday dinners.

Who would think that a sparkling drink (goli soda )spiked with litchi would pair well with the mouth-watering kebabs? It does when the Kebab is blanketed with ghee and served with kachumber and imli chutney and an unctuous, throat-tingling nihari The effervescence cuts through the richness of these dishes, and of an unfussy, unadorned, but tasty, juicy chicken malai the menu is eclectic and diverse. The dessert is the Double ka meetha or the stellar  Zafrani Kheer