Steaming ahead

Meat cravings

You just can’t miss this eatery given the crowds that throng it. Located on St John’s Church Road, Siddique Kabab Centre opens at 11 am but you’ll find people waiting well before the doors open. And once inside, it’s rather exhaustive but impressive menu, leaves you only yearning for more.

The eatery was started 20 years ago in the same place but on a much smaller scale by Basheer Ahmed. Today, he has expanded the place from a small tuck shop, catering to home-made biryani, to a full-fledged restaurant and has also managed to attract customers from the Southern parts of the City. 

Basheer’s two sons, Siddique and Omar, have also joined him. “The eatery has been named after my older son Siddique because somehow it was only after his birth that I started the eatery and the business gathered steam. He turned out to be lucky for me,” explains Basheer.

It started with a small menu but today the eatery has more than 50 items that one can choose from. Basheer says he started serving a variety of ‘kebabs’ and serves only ‘chicken biryani’. “We then expanded the menu to include Chinese, Arabian, South Indian and North Indian food so as to cater to a cross-section of people. And although, it involves a lot of planning, I’ve made sure that the menu has been designed after a lot of thought,” he explains.

He points out that it is perhaps the taste of the dishes, be it the ‘kebabs’, ‘tandoor chicken’ or ‘biryani’ and the method of cooking that has made this place attract new customers everyday. “There are about 28 ingredients that go into  every dish. The spices are bought in bulk, cleaned and ground by us. Our cooks experiment by changing the ‘masala’ for every dish just to make sure it doesn’t get monotonous.”

His sons manage the business but Basheer makes sure he comes to the restaurant everyday and supervises in the kitchen. Siddique says that he has seen the way his father has managed the business and hasn’t incorporated too many changes except for effectively using technology.

“We specialise only in making ‘chicken biryani’ and have consciously refrained from cooking mutton because sometimes it can be misunderstood for beef,” he adds.

The best part about the eatery, observe regulars, is that one can actually see the way the food is cooked. They say that nothing is concealed and one can see what is being cooked. Rajeshwari, a resident near Coles Park, says, “You know when the meat is reheated just by the taste but here you get things straight off the ‘tava’.”

Raghunandan BK, a student, says that he picks up his evening meal from this place. “One has to wait for their turn because it is very crowded but it is worth the wait. At least, the food is served hygienically unlike a lot of other ‘kebab’ places across the City,” he says.

The eatery is located at No 66/5, St. Johns Church Rd, Sulthangunta, Near Coles Park. For details, call 9845506180.