Chef Suresh DC’s Tuya Brings South Indian Soul to Jubilee Hills

“I was supposed to open in Bangalore first,” he shares, “but it didn’t happen. Then I thought—Hyderabad has a good market too. I saw a gap here when it came to chef-driven South Indian food. Everyone’s doing the same thing—65s, Natukodi, and all that. I wanted to go the other way.”

And he did. At Tuya, there’s no Natukodi curry, no Chicken 65, and definitely no clichés like the routine Hyderabadi biryani. “We don’t serve what’s already being served everywhere,” says Suresh with a laugh. “It’s not to say we don’t respect traditional dishes. It’s just that I want to present South Indian food differently. This is my long-time dream—to own a restaurant that tells our story, my story.”

That story started in Bangalore, where Suresh grew up in a Tamil household surrounded by neighbours from Andhra and friends from Kerala. “It was a melting pot,” he says. “We grew up eating from each other’s kitchens. That influence is all over Tuya’s menu.”

But Suresh didn’t jump into South Indian cooking right away. His early training was in European cuisine. “I trained under a renowned chef,” he recalls. “But then one day, I asked myself, why am I cooking European food? Who is it for?”

That shift brought him back to his roots. “At hotels, South Indian food was often mocked. People would just dismiss it as ‘Kadhi patta cuisine.” But I knew better. I grew up with it. There’s so much depth—beyond idlis and dosas.”

He travelled across the South, cooked in Bangkok, ran a coastal cuisine spot, consulted for restaurants—but nothing quite gave him the satisfaction of doing it on his own terms. “Consulting didn’t excite me. You make a menu, take your fee, and leave. After four months, it falls apart. That’s not how I want my work to live,” he says.

So, the chef saved up, roped in his mother as an investor, and brought in a close friend to design the interiors. The result? A beautiful, understated space with warm wood, soft lighting, and art by local artists. “Hyderabad is known for ‘go big or go home’—I didn’t want that,” he says. “Simple and classy, that’s all.”

The name Tuya means “pure”. “Pure passion, pure flavours,” explains Suresh. “That’s the heart of it.”

And the food? It’s a delightful journey through lesser-known corners of South India. “The menu is short. It will keep changing. This is probably the first truly chef-driven South Indian restaurant in Hyderabad, so we want to stay nimble.”

There’s Sarvapindi, a Telangana snack, served like an avocado toast. “That’s my take on it,” he says. “Instead of toast, I have used Sarvapindi as the base.” Then there’s Bhatani Munta Masala, inspired by local street masalas. “It’s basically my version of the mixture you get on the street carts,” he smiles.

The Green Chilli Chicken is a bestseller—just chicken and chillies. “Two ingredients. That’s it. That’s the magic,” he says with pride. Another crowd-favourite is the Nilgiri Chicken.

The Rajahmundry frozen milkshake—a playful, almost snowy version of a classic roadside treat—is a first for Hyderabad. “I tasted it during one of my travels. It’s not your typical milkshake. It’s more like shaved frozen milk. Light, refreshing, and nostalgic.”

Tuya’s vegetarian menu is just as inspired. The Kadala curry with idiyappam, Appam with veg stew, taco styled ragi rotti stuffed jackfruit, butter roasted cauliflower in curry leaf dip, Karaikudi-style preparations, and even a mushroom version of Pandi curry from Coorg all make appearances. “We have brought in dishes from Malnad, Karaikudi, Kerala—and we will rotate them often,” he says.

Chef Suresh even pays homage to his childhood with a comforting Vada Curry. “My mom used to make it from leftover vadas. After school, that was our snack. She would turn it into a curry the next morning. I have done it the same way here.”

And yes, there’s biryani—but not the usual Hyderabadi fare. “We do a Mysore-style biryani and a Chicken Biryani that’s popular at weddings in Bangalore. We didn’t want to compete with traditional Hyderabadi biryani. That’s not our game.”

What Tuya truly offers is a reflection of a chef’s deep connection to his roots, his travels, and his belief that South Indian food deserves more than just dosa counters and sambhar bowls. “So many chefs took butter chicken to the UK, to Dubai. But for South Indian food, only a few dared. I want to change that,” he says confidently.

With plans to take Tuya’s concept to other cities—and eventually overseas—Chef Suresh is just getting started. “In Delhi and Bombay—good South Indian food is hard to find. Even a dosa is 400 rupees there, and it’s not even good. I want to change that. Not for money, but for pride. Because I know what it should taste like.”

Tuya is more than a restaurant. It’s a conversation—with memories, with ingredients, and with an evolving identity of what South Indian food can be. And as Chef Suresh says, “When we already have so much richness in our cuisine, why not show it off?”