Ratna G. Chotrani/Hyderabad

On an autumn afternoon walking on Kharkhana road, Khaleel Ahmed was clueless as to what he should do as he just lost his father, a dentist by profession. He came across a person who guided him to start Shawarma (an Arabic delicacy –chicken roasted and served in pitta bread. unknown in those days.

Armed with just a certificate of Hotel Management and an Airline cabin crew course, this young lad set out to open this kiosk to make both ends meet for his family. With his uncle’s financial support Azmat Khan came up with a kebab and noodles joint but had desired to do more.

So he came up with the idea of starting Shawarma But there were a lot of challenges along the way, the primary one being sourcing quality ingredients and getting a good taste. Khaleel Ahmed visited a place in Nampally and ate the Shawarma to taste it. Thereafter he scouted places for getting the best ingredients.

He used his secret toppings and lo and behold from just a mere two kilos of chicken per day he now gets 300 kilos of chicken and sells nearly 2000 Shawarmas per day.  

Grill 9 platter of innovative dishes

Khaleel Ahmed popularly known as Roshan of Grill 9 fame has had quite the years. From just a small roadside kiosk beside a downgrade market at Kharkhana police station to owning two smart casual restaurants in the now swanky neighborhood of Kharkhana and the other at Secunderabad.

Several months on he won the best Biryani Award from Times Food. And yet, for Khaleel Ahmed, these accolades are only a springboard to innovate to bigger, better things breaking culinary borders.

Remembering the unusual taste of his father’s favourite Indian cuisine Grill, he found the perfect name for a comforting gastronomical concept “Grill 9.”

Today Grill 9 has entered Hyderabad’s food culture sans the nouveau Indian style and embraced the rustic, authentic flavours with nostalgic recipes from the UAE to the Deccan.

This modest down-to-earth Khaleel Ahmed’s dreams have come true as there are huge crowds in front of his restaurant at any given time of the day or night.

Khaleel Ahmed’s love affair with food began in his mother’s kitchen, at his native in Secunderabad. With food inspired by Hyderabad and Arabia’s incredibly rich and varied food scene, today Khaleel Ahmed has gained a reputation for colourful, flavour-rich curries that showcases both classic and lesser known Hyderabadi and Arabic flavours.  

Packed with innovative nonvegetarian dishes and starters the cuisine at his outlet pays homage to the food his parents ate albeit with a twist of his innovations be it the Haleem or the Biryanis.

From innovative dishes like Bahubali Haleem  -Haleem cooked with spices like rose, saffron, ghee, mutton, wheat, cardamom, and dry fruits and topped with Patthar- ka -ghost, boiled egg chicken tikka and a piece of marrow bone, fried cashews, golden caramelized onions, and fresh cream, to starters like Zinger Shawarma or the Shawarma supreme -pieces of chicken tikka , zinger chicken slivers combined with tangy yoghurt flavor crunchy chicken cream salad wrapped in the roomali roti or, kebab platters sheekh kebabs (soft melt in the mouth mince mixed with spices and grilled on charcoal) or the patther-ke-kebabs (succulent slivers of mutton cooked on a hot slab heated with embers).

That’s not all His Biryanis are equally innovative whether it is the Sheekh kebab Biryani or the double Ghosth Biryani with spicy undertones, each making one to try more on the list. Pair these with specialty Arabic Mandi’s huge chunks of soft succulent mutton or fried chicken served on a platter of flavourful Tahiri (Rice ) mixed with dry fruits. It is strongly suggested to try all of these with the specialty creamy dips whipped up by his mother Noor Jehan Begum who uses blobs of butter oil and spices.

Khaleel Ahmed’s focus on both vegetarian and nonvegetarian food comes with a serious commitment. The menu has been designed with a lot of thought behind it. For instance, come Ramazan and there are Haleem patties everywhere in the city but Khaleel Ahmed wanted to focus on giving more to his customers that not only focused on authentic haleem but lots of flavour too.

Today his experimental items are in huge demand. On this note, there is a thumbs-up sign from the Actor Prabhas of Bahubali movie fame who called for one and tasted the Bahubali Haleem.

Bahubali Haleem

His Shawarma and Haleem feature on most carnivores list while the luscious Biryani’s like the Sheek Biryani or the Zafraani Biryani and even the Chicken tikka biryani houses a burst of extraordinary flavours. While food is the highlight on the menu do not miss the desserts at the end of a meal. The beautifully balanced luscious silky Mulberry malai served with dry fruit or the Kaddu- ke –kheer (reduced milk and bottle gourd cooked together in a creamy amalgamation served with nuts and rose flavor ) and even the sugary soaked apricots served with malai are delicious. The real star however is the Hyderabadi double ka Meetha –bread fried in pure ghee and soaked in saffron milk topped with malai and crispy feinni (thin vermicelli) and dry fruits.

Also Read: Khassa brings alive century-old legacy of Royals

Loyalist cults splurging on the desserts, one cannot help but feel lost amid the comfortable vibes. Grill 9 binds a diner in a promise -to draw them back. With regional Hyderabadi dining missing in Secunderabad’s growing restaurant culture, Grill 9 will surely have a cult following wanting to try the entire menu. And with Haleem’s making a comeback during Ramzaan and a section dedicated to coming up with innovative haleem, there is certainly more than one reason to visit Grill 9