My dislike for buffets has been well documented. Especially if I am off to a food festival that ends up being part of the buffet. But there is the odd buffet that steps up its game and surprises me. With a Ramzan that started reasonably terrible with respect to food, the last couple of weeks has been a saving grace. With Cafe G at Holiday Inn serving iftar, I was looking forward to another nice set menu and once again I was a little skeptical when I found out that it was a buffet. The one at Taj was a poor excuse for a Iftar buffet with the only thing iftarish about it was that it began at 630 PM.

Thankfully, Holiday Inn has got it near perfect. Priced at Rs 1250 plus tax (ends up at Rs. 1500), the price is a shocker for a 5 star buffet. Eat the food and I was left wondering if they make any money off it. While it is certainly not the biggest buffet in the city, it is definitely one of the few buffets with almost a-la-carte quality food.

A plate of fruits, dates and a green drink was presented to us to kick start our feast after the fast. The green drink was a beautiful chilled milk spiced perfectly with cardamom that was soothing for the fasting tummy. The haleem was also served on the table. While I would have preferred classic haleem, that is not going to be possible in a 5 star kitchen, but what the chef has done here is commendable. The liquid fat on the haleem here was ghee, but to make up for it, it was served with a nice Sheermal and onions. Having the haleem with sheermal was brilliant. The meaty flavour of the haleem was shining through and it ended up being a side dish for the sheermal. I wasn’t complaining.

The mezze platter that arrived next had three dips. The hummus, the tzatziki and the beetroot dip. The hummus was excellent and one of the best available in a Chennai buffet as of now. Beautifully thick, olive oil floating and smooth, we licked the glass bowl clean!

The bread basket didn’t have any naan or roti and I loved that! It had sheermal and varky paratha, a form of sweet paratha flavoured by honey, from the Lucknow region. While I had the sheermal, this time with the gravy and dhal from the buffet, the varky paratha simply didn’t need anything to be enjoyed. We had it with the gravy and then realised that it was a dish by itself. Super soft, flaky and moist with ghee and honey, this was the hero dish.

Biriyani was a disappointment. Clearly, the focus on the other dishes didn’t allow any space for focusing on a dish like the biriyani, but being an iftar buffet, it was there. The live counter had a beautiful looking chicken roulade that looked a lot better than it tasted.

There was a large dessert counter and a lot of them were disappointing, but three excellent dishes made up for the rest. The strawberry basbousa was soft, deeply flavourful and melt-in-the-mouth consistency. I could have eaten a dozen of it. The Wattalappam, though wasn’t perfect (I mean home style authentic), could pass off as a good dish and the baklava was yummy. Without a glass breaking top, the blueberry creme brûlée was a mushy mess!

While the ITC’s Iftar meal is the best sit down meal this Iftar, G Cafe’s buffet is lot more value for money with its killer pricing, a wonderful spread of dishes with a good focus on Iftar based meals and kurtha and skull cap clad waiters carrying off the theme rather well! I wish I had known of this earlier as I had to entertain a few guests for iftar early last week and this would have been the perfect place for that. Knowing what the chef is capable of in a buffet, it would be interesting to see if Holiday Inn opens a specialty restaurant soon! I hope they do and I hope they retain this quality of food in the buffet!

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I’d have to admit that while Haleem doesn’t belong to Chennai, it was welcomed with open arms. Fisherman’s fare was the first (I think) to bring this Hyderabad delicacy to Chennai and I used to wait for Ramzan just to savour this. In the process, Haleem became a household name by 2011 and by 2012 every restaurant serving Iftar foods started having their version of the Haleem.  Some were excellent, some were poor excuses, but the city had choice.

Things started going downhill last year. I guess the cost of the ingredients and the audience not willing to pay a higher price for good quality Haleem started the downfall. A number of places serving terrible Haleem stopped and the ones serving good ones started reducing their quality. The lack of meat was palpable and the careless preparations were starting to show. First to the ones with a trained palate and then to everyone else.

This year, the lack of good Haleem has been rather appalling. For me, the Haleem took away the humble but flavourful ‘Nombu Kanji‘ that Chennai was used to breaking fast with. Since Haleem was better, it didn’t feel so bad, but now with Haleem dwindling, the Nombu kanji has also lost it with not too many people, except for the mosques, making it. This is a double whammy! Places that served good Haleem are now serving terrible ones. However, and this is what irks me more, the food that has been served with the Haleem has also taken a hit. Lukhmi, a kind of samosa, is nowhere to be found. The Chennai cutlets that were a staple in most places have disappeared as they gave way to the more illustrious cousins from Hyderabad. Nannari sherbet, another staple in Chennai for Iftar has also disappeared.

I tried three Iftar boxes in the last two weeks and I’ve been terribly terribly disappointed. I’m told that Abid is still keeping the Haleem flag flying and I’ve got that for today’s Iftar and I hope the food is good. Because now it is not just about the Haleem but the Iftar offerings in general.

I had a day trip to Hyderabad and I had Haleem at Shah Ghouse. Being used to Haleem in Chennai, the ones in Hyderabad took me to heaven and back, so Haleem has not suffered all over, just in Chennai.

It is about time that the Nombu Kanji and the cutlets make a come back in Chennai. About time. And Haleem can be the thing that we have once in a while, but it simply cannot be the staple anymore. It was just that the fad lasted for a good 10 years, but looks like Haleem simply cannot survive in Chennai! Or will I be proven wrong?

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And then comes an Iftar that is so difficult to write about!

I've been hearing this Abid's name quite a few times in social media. It took me a while to figure out where the place is, but then I found them incidentally one day and decided to take a look!

The place is sort of new and still getting their act, but this is a first impression. Stood in the non-existent queue and hustled my way to getting one haleem, a couple of Lukhmi, a chicken cheese cigar roll and and yummy looking Ande-ka-meeta.

Drank some water, ate one lukhmi and drove home to devour the rest. Needless to say, I was really hungry! I think I might have a problem with the names!

So, I saw a lot of references to Hyderabadi Haleem/Biriyani. This is not Hyderabadi at all, but that takes away nothing from the haleem. There was much lesser meat, but the flavours were very homely.  The haleem itself was of good consistency, no bones which made the eating experience a lot better and the fried onions added the much needed depth to the flavour, but for a fasting stomach, this was a nice homely haleem. Priced at Rs. 99, this is real value for money, though the lower lamb ratio took out the flavours a bit!

The Lukhmi was the only thing that clearly missed the name tag. Hmmm.....actually no. The outer part of it was clearly lukhmi, but I am used to the mutton lukhmi and found no traces of the usual flavours. The chicken cheese cigar roll was yummy!!

My favourite dish was the Ande-ka-meeta! It was a super super dish!! Nicely caramelised layer on top with the perfect consistency of the cake-like bottom. Soft and tasted yummy!!

The total for all of this was about Rs. 260!

Abid is in Spurtank Road,Chetput, a little further down from Buhari. 

Iftar in Hyderabad is everything it is cut out to be!

While in Bangalore, there are places dedicated for food, here there are pockets where there is everything. Food, clothing, jewellery, accessories etc. Multiple such places all over the city and more so towards old city! At 11 pm, it took us a long time to reach Charminar, the epitome of Hyderabad! But it was worth every bit of it just to see the culture!

However, my iftar started off with Sarvi! My local Hyderabadi friend said that all of his friends like Sarvi and that is why we started off there. So, basically, Hyderabad has three main varieties of haleem. The Irani Haleem, the Pista house haleem and Old Style (traditional?) haleem! Sarvi was the Irani type and boldly mentioned all over!

Irani Haleem was darker than the traditional haleem! Nice depth of flavour, the usual nuts and bolts on top and yummy. But bones! Yes, lots of it. Every plate has about 3 large bones and a few small bones. I thought haleem in Hyderabad is boneless based on eating from their households a few years back! The Qubani Meeta though, is simply brilliant in Hyderabad! Lots of minor variations, but all of them were quite nice.

We left and came down to the Sarvi Tea Stall that served the famed Irani Chai. Nothing great about it, but it is a nice glass of sweet chai! The Osmania biscuits, the other Irani thing was a nice accompaniment to it! But two other dishes were fantastic. The Samosa and the sweet bun! I don't know what made the samosa so nice, but it was really really nice! The sweet buns were just as nice and dip it in the Irani chai and it was nice and heavenly for the post fast tummy!

The two haleems and one Qubani meeta for 2 of us came to Rs. 510. Chai is 25 bucks, samosa 20 and bun is Rs. 12.

Next stop was the home of a Hyderabadi friend in Medinapet who has been cooking Haleem for the past 10 years and selling them on the streets of Hyderabad! They hate the Sarvis and Pista Houses! They feel that these guys have killed the original haleem and have totally commercialised it. Since I went late, they had already broken fast, but hadn't had much food and they started after I landed there. I had already eaten and felt bad for them, but they were really gracious!

I had the chicken kebab on skewers!!! Yummy yummy yum. Do not underestimate the small street shops serving Iftar, especially in the old part of Hyderabad! Then came the haleem and it was distinctly different! The colour was a lot lighter, flavour of lamb a lot stronger, the amount of nuts a lot lesser and the amount of ghee a lot more! That is like a completely different meal! And this too had bones! While we were guests, it is priced at Rs. 110 for a plate for the outsiders.

Had to attend a meeting at 930 and so we stepped out at about 11 pm for our next stop. Charminar and the original pista house. En route, we saw many pockets active and super busy at night. Every pocket had food along with the clothes and stuff! We landed at Charminar and walked and had sugar cane juices and some snacks along the way! As we reached Pista House, the haleem was sold out! Not wanting to eat the packed haleem from Pista House available in a few shops, we had lots of Qubani Meeta, equally but differently yummy!! Fresh Haleem from Pista house was on the table the next evening and I can understand why the family in Medinapet hates it. While it was definitely tasty, it was a lot more wheat, a lot less lamb and definitely very commercialised!

This trip to Hyderabad was an eye opener to a lot of things in Hyderabad, but the biggest takeaway is that Hyderabadi Haleem has bones in it! The Chennai 5 star hotels haleems are way more brilliant!

Innovations! Aren't they simply wonderful? Especially when it comes to food! Now, we've spoken at length about haleem and its impact on the Chennai Food scene and all that, but when it is innovated without losing its brilliance, I guess it is simply too good to miss.

How much more can you innovate with haleem? It is after all a goo of minced meat and grains. Can you add more flavour? Yes. But it already rich in flavour. Add more spices? Add more fried onions on top? These are deviations rather than innovation.

How about serving it with a beautifully scented saffron bread? 

I've never heard of this and I am not sure if it is ever served anywhere else like that! Yes, I've had some fabulous haleem, but never one served with some fantastic flat bread (ok, roti). Now it is like eating a wonderful galouti but in a haleem form. Add one egg and serve it in a thali and this is simply yummy for the taste buds and the eyes! 

So, Taj has this offer. 850 plus tax, ends up around Rs. 1000 per person for dates, fruits, sherbet, starter of choice and haleem. Or if you are the more hungry kind, you can take their buffet for Rs. 1985 all inclusive early and they will add haleem and mezze platter at no extra cost to you! So two options. 

Clearly, I wasn't interested in the options. I was more interested in the this haleem. Where is this haleem from? It is certainly not Hyderabadi! Flavours were more South Indian (I know Hyderabad is part of South India.....), but in which South Indian cuisine do you find Saffron Roti? 

I guess somethings are best left not-understood, but I am going to keep trying to find out if this exists elsewhere. Else, this might be the time to introduce Chennai haleem to the world! Maybe if there was idly instead of saffron roti, it maybe truly Chennai Haleem, but for the lack of anything else, this is a true innovation. 

OK, not innovation, but a wonderful fusion!!!! Oh, yes, the starters, especially the mezze platter and the grilled chicken were yum, by the way! 

From Opulence to everyday life. After a fantastic Iftar at ITC, we decided to check on what is more affordable for more frequent visits! With the family giving a thumbs up to Fisherman's Fare, three of us decided to see what was in store!

Pleasant surprise! Nombu Kanji! Looking at the colour, I had a sense that this was going to be good, but it was perfect. Just the tinge of lamb flavour and not trying to be a liquid haleem. It had the warmth that a good nombu kanji has and I was happy at the effort to keep Chennai's tradition alive. The haleem was pretty good too. No bones in my bowl and the flavour was just right!

There are two parts to this Iftar meal. A platter served on your table with the kanji, the haleem, lime juice, badam milk and two sweets, along with a plateful of fried stuff. And then the buffet which has all of the above plus naan, two gravies, a rice and fruits.

The badam milk was slightly watery, but had the right flavours, the two sweets were excellent. Earlier, Fisherman's fare had the Qubani-ka-meeta and I was expecting that, but that was not to be seen. Among the fried stuff, the lamb Lukhmi was nice and the samosa was also decent, while the spring roll was passable.

If was to give one advice, it would be to skip the buffet and ask for repeat of the platter stuff. The naans and the gravies weren't great, the Masala Rice was average, but the the fried chicken and chicken pakodas were pretty decent. The stuff on the platter were so much better!

Priced at Rs. 399, this is a steal!

Fisherman's Fare is on Casa Major Road, Egmore (Opp Don Bosco, Egmore)

From the streets of Bangalore to the opulence of the Grand Chola.

Last year, I don't think I visited any 5 star hotels for Iftar. The year before that, every hotel had got it wrong in some form or the other and this year I have only seen ads from Grand Chola and Crowne Plaza. Fingers crossed!

Started in Opulence. A very nicely refreshing rose sherbet with super soft dates. The dates were melt in the mouth, but weren't stuffed with anything, just natural but very high quality dates. I think what I saw on top was the gold leaf! This was followed by a nice platter of fruits.

The special stuff started! The Haleem. This could possibly be the best haleem in Chennai. If you tell them to add some onions, they bring it without any onions on top. And a big plate of condiments with ginger, fried onions, chillies, ghee and other stuff. Do it yourself, they seem to tell me which was just perfect!!! My friend didn't say anything and his came with condiments pre set! Not to say that he did not dig into my condiments plate for more onions. The flavour was fantastic. It is sad I have to mention that there were no bones in the haleem. That is how haleem should be, but in so many places, they are filled with bones which ruins the haleem experience. So a place that serves without bones is actually a stand out.

The next was even better than the haleem. A Nihari. Rather, the ITC take on Nihari. It was medium thick with a stunning flavour and two pieces of mutton which simply fell of the bone! The super soft bread served with it was the only thing better. It was slightly sour with loads of seasoning on top and soaked the gravy really well!

The biriyani, though super flavourful, stood no chance against the haleem and the stunning nihari!

We finished with kheer which was good, but again stood no chance against the haleem and the nihari.

If I was to pick on something, I would have been extremely happy to see the chef do a 5 star version of the humble kanji to showcase the really local hero. But the local hero has not been marketed and I am afraid that the nombu kanji will be extinct and the haleem will eventually take over Chennai. The kanji needs to be branded!!!!

Priced at Rs. 1250 plus tax, your damages will be Rs. 1510! The portions are unlimited and you can ask for refills of any of the above, but I doubt you will have space after a 14 hour fast for more. If you are not fasting and don't fancy the buffet, this is the perfect way to get the best of ITC for about Rs. 1510!

I am yet to try a lot of haleem in Chennai, but I doubt it is going to get better than this! 

Continuing on the Ramzan street food series as part of Iftar options around, our next stop was Koramangala. No separate ground but on the footpath and the space next to the Hotel Empire in Koramangala, this is more polished in its looks.

Big differences though. The haleem wasn't made anywhere close by I guess, so there were only packed options. Tasted a couple and they weren't great by any means. Skipped the Pista house haleem as I can get the same thing in Chennai.

Everything else that we found in Bilal Mosque was available here with a lot more sweet options.

The round lamb stuffed paratha was fantastic! With a nice flaky paratha stuffed with yummy lamb, this was the best dish of the day. Price Rs. 100 for a nice big round paratha.

Everything else was comparatively expensive. Haleem was between Rs. 150 and Rs. 200 for a small bowl (around 300 ml).

The chicken kebabs were alright. Very similar to the previous place, but slightly more expensive. Lots of seafood options with even whole grilled and fried fish available for anywhere between Rs. 250 and Rs. 500. The whole fried crab was amazing to look at, but we skipped it.

There were lot more sweet options and the bread sweet at Rs. 30 a piece and the custard at Rs. 100 for two pieces were yummy.

My next stop is Chennai. I plan to hit ITC Grand Chola's Iftar and then start the restaurant Iftar journey and there is almost no street food Iftar in Chennai! And then the staple Haleem's in Chennai. Watch this space for more! 

What's happened to haleem in Chennai? Granted, it is alien to the city, but some of them have deteriorated so badly, that I can't believe that these were the same places that served good haleem a few years back. So, I am not going to write about them till I try them once more. The best haleem thus far has been from a home baker. I say best 'thus far' because of the Haleem she delivered! Called Meaty Wheaty, this was a different Haleem, but it knew it was different.

The colour of the haleem struck me first. I looked at her and she understood. Yes, there were no lentils and this was a full bodied haleem! Meat and Wheat. True to its name. Nothing more, nothing less. OK, there were spices and fried onions, but this was really meaty. Flavourful. It has to be with a mutton:wheat ratio of 3:1! Whoa! We ordered again a couple of days later for the whole family and everyone loved it.

My search for Haleem in Chennai has been a disappointment, otherwise. The search is on though!

Priced at Rs. 450/kg, this is a steal. There is a chicken haleem priced at Rs. 400/kg, but I don't intend trying it. I hope she is able to keep up the consistency!

She does home delivery and can be contacted at 9994088522. Ask for Mrs. Afsar.