Hyderabad's Seafood Palate: A New Chapter for Paradise Restaurant

Haleem and biryani are the two buzzwords of Hyderabad’s food culture. But to reduce it to that would be injustice to the city that has, according to Chef Dr Swatantra Gautam, who says that Hyderabadies are people who are always ready to explore new horizons, and in this case, more recipes.

Vice President at the culinary, research and development of Hyderabad’s famed Paradise restaurant, Gautam says that the city, a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, has always space for new tastes. 

Paradise is known for its biryani, so what motivated you guys to start a seafood fish palate?

That is true and our guests are happy with that. But we wanted to extend the magic beyond the biryani and kebabs. Our guests shouldn’t feel like “oh we should just have only biryani and kebabs” and leave.

While trying to maintain the consistency in taste and class, Paradise has always tried to bring something new to the table. We have had great chefs all across these years. Some of these chefs created recipes that set a benchmark for our own future endeavors also.

These chefs and our research team have developed and archived more than two thousand recipes so far, which have been used in our restaurants in the last seventy years. We even have some long lost seafood recipes from this very region as well. We are trying to bring it back and see how people will react to it.

Chef Dr Swatantra Gautam

How was the guest reaction?

Oh, people love it! We wanted to start it and gauge the reaction before rolling it out to further branches of our restaurants in different parts of the city, but the crowd went like “We were waiting for this, bring it on”. Soon we will be seeing this menu in all the Pista House branches in Hyderabad.

What are the dishes we have in this seafood palate?

We have a variety of prawns, first and foremost. Along with dishes like chilli fish, we have golden fried prawns, chilli prawns, loose prawns, honey chilli prawns, and more. Of these, loose prawns and golden fried prawns have been the crowd favourite.

How do Hyderabadis eat fish, in your observation?

Hyderabadis are wonderful people to have at the table, they enjoy and appreciate the food just like how they do with life. They are open to exploring new things and have a great food palate for new recipes.

Right now it’s very good weather to have a fish meal in Hyderabad. The weather is amazing - not too cold, not too hot. It’s the perfect time to sit together with your friends, enjoy some nice hot food along with this soft winter, as Hyderabadis regularly do.

To enjoy this soft winter when you are enjoying it with fish fry with a hint of chilli as a starter to your meal is an amazing feeling. That is why we are focusing on fish starters rather than an entire meal.

Are you from Hyderabad?

I am from Delhi actually. I have been here for some time now. This is such an amazing place to live, and eat too.

As a chef, what difference do you find between how Delhiites eat and how Hyderabadies eat?

Both cities have their own cuisine and culture dating back to many years. But I have felt regular people are more open to trying new things here.

Although I am not from this city, being a chef here, cooking and experimenting new new things has been such a rewarding endeavor.