Some hotels removed soups, Chicken 65, roti from menu
Hyderabad: A shortage of LPG supplies in Hyderabad has forced several restaurants and small eateries to shift to firewood stoves, resulting in shorter menus and slower service, but diners say the change has improved flavour.
At a restaurant in Secunderabad, a family found a reduced menu during a routine lunch after staff informed them that cooking was being done on firewood due to the gas shortage. Soups were unavailable and items such as Chicken 65 and roti were removed from a family pack, with two boiled eggs offered as substitutes.
“It tasted authentic — you could feel the smoky flavour,” said N. Jyothi. She and her family later ordered an additional portion for dinner. Of course, the Chicken 65 and roti were out of the Family Pack and the restaurant offered two boiled eggs in their place. The server declined to take orders for soups too, she said.
Across parts of the city, restaurants are adapting to irregular LPG supplies by limiting menu options and adjusting cooking methods. Operators said firewood cooking is more labour-intensive and less predictable but is allowing kitchens to continue operations.
Some diners said the change has revived traditional flavours associated with slow cooking. Not long ago, firewood cooking was a selling point in local eateries before LPG became dominant because of convenience.
“My mother used to cook fish slowly over a wood fire,” said a diner. “The tamarind gravy would simmer for hours, and the fish would soak in that tangy flavour. You don’t get that depth in quick gas cooking.”
Restaurant operators said dum cooking, especially for biryani, benefits from steady and diffused heat typically associated with firewood. Residents also linked the taste to traditional cooking practices followed during family gatherings.
According to Syeda Nusrath Fathima, resident of Attapur, “The family functions we use the firewood. That is to bring the real flavor of biryani, usually at home it’s not convenient for fixing the firewood cooking biryani on gas stoves.”
Explaining the technique, fourth-generation Hyderabadi traditional cook from Kalapathar in the Old City, Syed Samiullah Hussaini, said. “The basic culinary art of biryani making is adjusting the fire that happens only while cooking with the firewood. At one point the bottom flame is diffused and the charcoal flames are put on the top of the vessel which is as usual covered and sealed with the flour. This was missing in several hotels in the New city, now they are adopting the firework because of the LPG shortage.”
Some diners said the return to firewood cooking has restored what they described as the original taste of biryani, particularly during the Ramzan season when restaurants see increased footfall for haleem and biryani.
While the LPG shortage has increased costs and slowed service for food businesses, for many customers it has also revived slower cooking methods and flavours associated with older Hyderabad kitchens.
