The way to reach Khaja Begum’s house is very simple. In a by-lane of Somajiguda, you simply follow the aroma of biryani, chicken roast and the delicious shikampur being fried. Khaja Begum has been cooking since the last 40 years and she has lost count of the number of weddings and parties that she has catered. “On days when I don’t have orders I get bored, I have to keep cooking everyday. It keeps me sane,” she says with a laugh.
For many in the city, no party is complete without Khaja Begum’s dishes who trained with the chef of Nizam Osman Ali Khan. “I can’t recollect the name, but the chef was a Hindu. He created a lot of dishes for the Nizam and so all the food that I make are traditional Hyderabadi recipes,” she explains.
“I remember a client telling someone at a party, ‘Biryani khana hain to Khaja Begum ke haath ka khao’, it humbles me when I see people happy when they eat my food,” she says.
“I used to do embroidery on silk saris to make money to take care of my family. When the sari business shut down I didn’t know what to do,” she says. Once, during a conversation with a friend, a man walked in with a pamphlet of his catering company and it was then that Begum’s friend came up with the idea that she should start her own catering company.
Within a few days the pamphlets were ready. “Before I even knew it, I got my first order. I had to deliver one kilo each of bhagara baingan and mirchi ka salan. It felt surreal,” she says, teary eyed. “There was a time when we weren’t well-to-do. We had to make ends meet, I not only had my eight kids to take care of, but there were my parents, my in-laws and two of my young brothers-in-law. I would get two hours of sleep because I would have to do all the cooking myself. Thankfully when my kids grew a little older, they started helping me.”
For someone who cooks some of the tastiest foods, Khaja Begum takes you by surprise when she says, “Biryanis, mutton, chicken etc. I eat on special occasions, on any other day, give me dal and chawal and I’m more than happy.”
Point of contact:
One can order from a wide list of biryanis, nargis kofte, haleem, dalcha, shikampur, mutton kofta and kababs etc.
Orders need to be placed well in advance and need to be minimum of one kilo.
For more details contact Begum at: 040: 23408203.
