I often make the blanket statement that I like Indian food
without much thought. But India is as large and diverse as the United States.
Different regions have different palates, flavors, and culinary styles. If I
say I like barbecue, the next question would be whether I like South Carolina,
Georgia, or Texas style. If I’m into pizza, am I thinking of traditional, New
York, California, or Chicago? (Truthfully, it’s never Chicago. That is just a
bread bowl of tomato soup with cheese.)
A lot of the
Indian food offered in Rochester is from the northern regions of India, which
is delicious, but what about South India styles? Enter Hyderabad Biryani House,
a new Indian restaurant in Henrietta Plaza, next to Hallmark and Starbucks. The
restaurant is named after the city of Hyderabad, capital of the state of
Telangana, a mid-southern region of India, and is also the city that owners
Ravi and Bhargari Godavarthi are from.
This is their
second restaurant venture; the first Hyderabad Biryani House opened in Buffalo in
2016. Before the Rochester location opened in June, folks living here would
travel the hour for the Godavarthis’ food. Some were homesick for the southern
style cooking, and some just wanted to try something new.
I visited
Hyderabad Biryani house in the early afternoon, just after regular lunch time. Its
sign is easy to spot in the plaza, with its bright red lettering — the standard
strip mall font that many restaurants use, usually as required by their lease.
But the sign belies the aesthetic of the interior. Though it was daytime,
the interior was dark, and I felt like I was out for a night on the town. The
walls are burnt yellow giving way to deep auburn moldings and trim, and the
hosting and dining areas are separated by a low wall, which gives the feeling
of being allowed into an exclusive club when the host takes you to your seat.
The far wall
of the dining area is lined with long booth-style seating, and there are plenty
of tables in the middle for lunch and dinner rushes. Sliding pocket doors
hid another area of seating for busier times or reservations by large parties.
Colorful paintings of peacocks and a woman dancing among vibrantly colored
textiles adorned one wall. On another, an LCD television was displaying the music
videos that were softly serenading the whole restaurant. Normally, I am not big
on televisions in restaurants and bars, but the way it was set in on the one
natural wood paneled wall made it look like another painting that happened to have
a moving picture. Though the videos were bright and colorful and full of
action, the screen contributed more than distracted from the décor.
Hyderabad’s
menu is quite vast. I could fill up on just the appetizer choices. I was
familiar with some items, such as the samosas (fried pastry dough filled with
minced potatoes and peas, $4.99) and pakodas (paneer bars deep fried in
chickpea batter, $8.99), but I had not heard of the bajji or the manchuria. The
former are different deep-fried vegetables dipped in chickpea batter; the aloo bajji
are potato ($6.99) and mirchi bajji are chili pepper stuffed with chopped
tomatoes and onions ($7.99). The manchuria — which come in gobi (cauliflower,
$9.99), baby corn ($10.99), and mixed vegetable ($10.99) — are battered in a
spicy sauce and tossed with a house recipe Manchurian sauce.
Looking at
all the options, I realized that my mouth was watering, yet I had not even read
past the appetizers. On the specifically South Indian menu are dosas, lentil
and rice crepes stuffed with specific fillings. There are about a dozen
variations (all $8.99), including ghee, onion rava, cheese, and even a
chocolate dosa. With exception of the chocolate variety, they all come with
sambar and coconut chutney for dipping.
It took me quite
a few minutes and consumption of about half of my Masala tea to decide on a main
dish. I’d be remiss if I went to a place called “Hyderabad Biryani House” and
didn’t try the dish in their name. Biryani is a fragrantly spiced dish of
basmati rice and herbs served with raitha yogurt sauce and a chili pepper or
peanut gravy. Hyderabad offers eight different options of protein: the
perennial favorite chicken (made with chicken leg quarters), vijayawada
(boneless chicken), goat, shrimp, fish, egg, vegetable and paneer. I decided to
go with the vegetable ($11.99), because I thought that would be “eating light.”
I was wrong.
Within minutes, I was presented with a mountain of aromatic rice burying a plate
of perfectly spiced and cooked vegetables. This was a hearty meal, but it was
hard to put down my fork after the first bite. The vegetable biryani has a
smoky-sweet flavor due to the whole anise and cloves cooked in. And the folks
at Hyderabad are not shy about spice. I went for medium, and it was hot enough
for my brow to conjure a few beads of sweat. I like spice, so this is precisely
what I wanted out of my meal. If you are not a fan of spicy foods but like international
cuisine, I would suggest starting with the mild.
Chris Thompson is a freelance writer for CITY. Feedback on this article can be sent to CITY’s arts & entertainment editor at becca@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2019.
