Delivery & takeout

The Deccan table, sent out.

Biryani cooked on dum, starters fried to order, and the two desserts that end a Hyderabadi wedding. Every dish here says where it actually comes from — including the four that are ours rather than anyone's tradition.

Allergies: Every dish lists what it contains, and what is still being confirmed with our suppliers. Please tell us about any allergy when you order — all of our food is cooked in one kitchen that handles milk, wheat, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

Shahi Biryaniyan

The Royal Biryanis

Sealed, slow-cooked on dum, and opened only when the rice and the meat have finished together. Six ways, from the canonical goat to our own compositions.

Kachche Murgh ki Biryani

Flagship

Hyderabadi dum biryani, bone-in chicken

Bone-in chicken marinated overnight, layered raw beneath saffron basmati and sealed, so meat and rice finish together.

Medium-hotHeritage technique, chicken variationContains milk, wheat

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Hyderabadi dum biryani is built on the kachchi method, and the name says exactly what happens: kachche murgh means raw chicken. The chicken goes into the pot raw, marinated overnight in yogurt with fried onions, ginger, garlic and ground spices; parboiled basmati is layered on top with saffron milk, mint and ghee; the vessel is sealed and cooked slowly so meat and rice finish together and the meat's juices flavour every grain. This is what separates kachchi biryani from pakki biryani, where the meat is cooked separately first.

Local tradition connects the dish to the kitchens of the Asaf Jahi Nizams in the 18th century, though the precise origin is uncertain and biryani itself descends from Persian pilaf traditions carried into South Asia. Bone-in chicken is the most-ordered version in Hyderabad restaurants today, and the one that travels best for delivery.

What is in it

Basmati rice, chicken (bone-in), yogurt, fried onions (birista), ginger, garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, mint, cilantro, lemon juice, saffron, milk, ghee, oil, whole spices (bay leaf, green and black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, shahi jeera), salt

Allergens

Milk from the yogurt, ghee and saffron milk. Wheat from the fried onions — the crispy fried onions we buy are coated in wheat flour, which is why every biryani on this menu contains wheat.

Dietary

Halal-capable. Not gluten-free — the fried onions contain wheat flour.

Kachche Gosht ki Biryani

Hyderabadi dum biryani, bone-in goat

The canonical form of the dish: bone-in goat, marinated overnight, cooked on dum for an hour or more until it leaves the bone.

Medium-hotHeritage — Deccani/NizamiContains milk, wheat

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

The canonical form of the dish. Bone-in goat is marinated overnight in yogurt, fried onions and spice, layered raw beneath parboiled basmati, sealed and cooked on dum for an hour or more. Because goat takes the long, slow cook that the kachchi method demands, this is the version the technique was built around, and the one served at Hyderabadi weddings and celebrations. Saffron and ghee finish the top layer; the meat should come away from the bone.

What is in it

Basmati rice, goat (bone-in), yogurt, fried onions (birista), ginger, garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, mint, cilantro, lemon juice, saffron, milk, ghee, oil, whole spices (bay leaf, green and black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, shahi jeera), salt

Allergens

Milk from the yogurt, ghee and saffron milk. Wheat from the fried onions, which are wheat-flour coated.

Dietary

Halal-capable. Not gluten-free — the fried onions contain wheat flour.

Biryani-e-Bagh

SignatureVegetarian

Hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani

Seasonal vegetables in a yogurt-and-spice masala, layered with saffron basmati and finished on dum exactly as the meat biryanis are.

MediumTraditional Hyderabadi tarkari ki biryani — Biryani-e-Bagh is our name for itContains milk, wheat

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Hyderabad's vegetable dum biryani is known locally as tarkari ki biryani or sabzi biryani. Seasonal vegetables — potato, carrot, green beans, peas, cauliflower — are cooked into a yogurt-and-spice masala, layered with parboiled basmati, saffron milk, fried onions and mint, then sealed and finished on dum exactly as the meat biryanis are. The dum technique itself came to the Deccan from Persia and became the signature of Hyderabadi cooking under the Nizams.

We call ours Biryani-e-Bagh, biryani of the garden, for the vegetables in the pot. The name is ours; the dish underneath it is the traditional one.

What is in it

Basmati rice, mixed vegetables (potato, carrot, green beans, peas, cauliflower), yogurt, fried onions (birista), ginger, garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, mint, cilantro, lemon juice, saffron, milk, ghee, oil, whole spices (bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, shahi jeera), salt

Allergens

Milk from the yogurt, ghee and saffron milk. Wheat from the fried onions, which are wheat-flour coated.

Dietary

Vegetarian. Not vegan as prepared — it contains yogurt, ghee and milk. Not gluten-free.

Hyderabadi Royal Paneer Biryani

Chef's SpecialVegetarian

Paneer biryani, mild and creamy

Our richest and mildest biryani: paneer over a korma-style masala thickened with cashew, layered with saffron basmati.

MediumHouse creation, modern Hyderabadi restaurant styleContains milk, wheat, tree nuts

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Our richer, milder take on a vegetarian biryani. Paneer is marinated in yogurt and mild spice, then layered with saffron basmati over a korma-style masala thickened with cashew and melon-seed paste and finished with cream and ghee.

Paneer is not a Nizam-era ingredient — it entered Hyderabadi menus through modern restaurants serving a growing vegetarian clientele — so we serve this as a chef’s special rather than a heritage dish. It is the mildest biryani on the menu and the one we recommend for guests who want the aroma without the heat.

What is in it

Basmati rice, paneer, yogurt, cream, onions, fried onions (birista), ginger, garlic, green chilies, cashew paste, melon seeds (magaz), turmeric, white pepper, cardamom, cumin, saffron, milk, mint, cilantro, ghee, oil, whole spices, salt

Allergens

Milk from the paneer, yogurt, cream, ghee and saffron milk. Tree nuts from the cashew paste. Wheat from the fried onions, which are wheat-flour coated.

Dietary

Vegetarian. Not gluten-free — the fried onions contain wheat flour.

Hyderabadi Royal Chicken Biryani

Chef's Special

Boneless chicken biryani, mild

The boneless, mild counterpart to the kachchi: green chili and white pepper instead of red, over a cashew-enriched masala.

MediumHouse creation, modern Hyderabadi restaurant styleContains milk, wheat, tree nuts

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

The boneless, mild counterpart to our kachchi biryani. Boneless chicken is marinated in yogurt with green chili, cardamom and white pepper rather than red chili, then layered with generously saffroned basmati over a cashew-enriched masala. The rice carries a pale gold colour and a delicate perfume instead of the fiery red of the classic.

This is a modern restaurant style, not a heritage recipe, and we say so — a chef’s special built for guests who want boneless chicken and moderate heat.

What is in it

Basmati rice, chicken (boneless), yogurt, cream, onions, fried onions (birista), ginger, garlic, green chilies, cashew paste, melon seeds (magaz), turmeric, white pepper, cardamom, cumin, saffron, milk, mint, cilantro, ghee, oil, whole spices, salt

Allergens

Milk from the yogurt, cream, ghee and saffron milk. Tree nuts from the cashew paste. Wheat from the fried onions, which are wheat-flour coated.

Dietary

Halal-capable. Not gluten-free — the fried onions contain wheat flour.

Hyderabadi Royal Keema and Prawn Biryani

Chef's Special

Ground goat and prawn biryani

Spiced ground goat cooked down until the fat carries the masala, with prawns folded in late so they stay just-set.

Medium-hotHouse creationContains milk, wheat, crustacean (prawn)

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Contains shellfish (crustacean).

Our own composition, and the dish we are proudest of. Spiced ground goat is cooked down until the fat carries the masala, then layered with parboiled saffron basmati, with prawns folded in late so they stay just-set rather than rubbery.

Keema biryani and prawn biryani each exist in the Hyderabadi and coastal Andhra repertoire on their own; putting them in one pot is ours, not a traditional pairing, and we do not claim otherwise. The keema gives depth, the prawns give sweetness and bite, and the contrast is the point.

What is in it

Basmati rice, ground goat/lamb, prawns (shelled, deveined), yogurt, onions, fried onions (birista), tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, mint, cilantro, saffron, milk, ghee, oil, whole spices, salt

Allergens

Crustacean — prawns, a priority allergen, declared at the point of order and on every container. Milk from the yogurt, ghee and saffron milk. Wheat from the fried onions, which are wheat-flour coated.

Dietary

Halal-capable, though the permissibility of shellfish varies between schools. Not gluten-free.

Worth knowing before you order

This dish cannot be supplied without the prawns from the same batch. A prawn-free order is a separate cook, in a separate pot, on non-cross-contaminated equipment — or we decline it. Please ask before ordering rather than after.

Aatishi Nashte

Fiery Beginnings

How a Hyderabadi table starts: fried hot, tossed hotter, and built for the first few minutes of a meal. Every dish here carries real heat.

Chicken Majestic

Signature

Chicken Majestic

Boneless chicken fried crisp, then tossed hot with slit green chilies, curry leaves, garlic and a tangy yogurt sauce.

HotModern Hyderabadi restaurantContains milkMay contain egg, wheat, soy

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

A modern Hyderabad restaurant and street-food dish, and one of the city's best-loved starters. Boneless chicken strips are marinated in ginger, garlic and chili, dusted in cornflour and fried crisp, then tossed hot in a pan with slit green chilies, curry leaves, garlic and a tangy yogurt-based sauce that clings to the crust.

The Indo-Chinese influence on Hyderabad’s restaurant scene shows in the technique — fry, then toss in sauce — applied to a thoroughly local spice profile. No single creator or founding restaurant is reliably documented, so we credit the city rather than a person.

What is in it

Chicken (boneless), yogurt, ginger, garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, curry leaves, black pepper, cumin, coriander, lemon juice, cornstarch, oil, cilantro, salt

Allergens

Milk from the yogurt. Egg, wheat and soy are not yet settled: many versions of this dish bind the marinade with egg, dredge in maida and finish with soy sauce. Ours does none of those things — but until the recipe and every supplier product are locked and signed off, we list all three rather than ask you to take our word for it.

Not yet confirmed: egg, wheat, soy. These depend on a supplier product we have not locked down. Until we have, we would rather list them than leave them off.

Dietary

There is no wheat in the recipe as we specify it — a cornstarch dredge and no soy sauce — but we will not call it gluten-free until the batter and sauce decisions are confirmed in writing.

Apollo Fish

Signature

Apollo Fish

Boneless fillets of firm white fish, battered and fried crisp, tossed with garlic, ginger, green chili and curry leaves.

HotModern Hyderabadi restaurantContains fish, soyMay contain milk, egg, wheat, sesame

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Contains fish.

One of Hyderabad's most famous starters, and not a species of fish — Apollo is the name of the preparation. Boneless fillets of firm white fish are marinated, battered, fried crisp, then tossed with garlic, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves and a tangy-hot sauce. The dish is generally traced to Hyderabad restaurants in the 1980s and spread across Andhra menus from there.

Several origin stories circulate for the name — one attributes it to a restaurant called Gemini and to Apollo the Greek god, another to the Apollo Hospital neighbourhood — and none is authoritatively documented. So we tell you the honest version: nobody is certain where the name came from.

What is in it

Firm white fish fillets, boneless (basa, tilapia, sole or snapper), ginger, garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, turmeric, cornstarch, rice flour, yogurt, soy sauce, vinegar, curry leaves, black pepper, lemon juice, cilantro, oil, salt

Allergens

Fish, and soy from the soy sauce. Wheat is unsettled because most soy sauce is brewed with wheat and the batter must be kept free of maida; milk because of the yogurt in the marinade; egg and sesame because neither belongs in our version and both are common in others. All four stay listed until the products are locked.

Not yet confirmed: milk, egg, wheat, sesame. These depend on a supplier product we have not locked down. Until we have, we would rather list them than leave them off.

Dietary

Contains fish. Not gluten-free unless we move to tamari and guarantee a maida-free batter — until then, please assume it is not.

Mutton Ghee Roast

A roasted Byadgi chili and whole-spice paste, sharpened with tamarind and cooked down in ghee until the masala coats the meat.

Medium-hotCoastal Karnataka (Kundapur/Mangalorean), now common on Hyderabad menusContains milkMay contain mustard

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Ghee roast is a coastal Karnataka dish, not a Hyderabadi one, and we are straight about that. It was created at Shetty Lunch Home in Kundapur, opened in 1957 by Tejappa Shetty and his wife Prabhavathi, who reworked the family's chicken sukka with a generous quantity of ghee and mild Byadgi chilies; the family later brought it to Mangalore, and chicken ghee roast became one of the defining dishes of coastal Karnataka cooking.

The mutton version follows the same method — a roasted whole-spice and Byadgi chili paste, sharpened with tamarind, cooked down in ghee with curry leaves until the masala coats the meat and the ghee separates. It has since been absorbed onto restaurant menus across South India, Hyderabad included, which is how it reaches this menu.

What is in it

Goat/lamb (bone-in), ghee (generous), Byadgi dried red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, garlic, ginger, tamarind, curry leaves, turmeric, jaggery (small quantity), oil, salt

Allergens

Milk from the ghee. Mustard is not yet settled: some ghee roast recipes temper with mustard seed, and mustard is a priority allergen in Canada. Ours will either omit it or declare it — until that is decided, assume it may be there.

Not yet confirmed: mustard. These depend on a supplier product we have not locked down. Until we have, we would rather list them than leave them off.

Dietary

Halal-capable. There is no wheat in the recipe itself, but we are not advertising it as gluten-free until the mustard question and the frying oil are both settled.

Chili Paneer

Vegetarian

Chilli Paneer

Battered paneer tossed at high heat with onion, bell pepper, green chili, garlic and a soy-and-vinegar sauce.

HotKolkata Chinese tradition, now nationwide in IndiaContains milk, wheat, soyMay contain sesame

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Indo-Chinese cooking began in Kolkata, where Hakka and Cantonese families who settled in the Tangra neighbourhood adapted their techniques to Indian ingredients and Indian palates. Chilli chicken came first; as demand grew among vegetarian diners, vegetarian counterparts followed, and chilli paneer became the best known of them. By the 1990s it had spread from Kolkata's Chinese restaurants to menus across the country.

Cubes of paneer are battered and fried, then tossed at high heat with onion, bell pepper, green chili, garlic and a soy-and-vinegar sauce. It is on this menu because it is what a mixed table orders alongside biryani — a genuine Indian restaurant staple, from a different tradition than the rest of the menu.

What is in it

Paneer, cornstarch, all-purpose flour (maida), bell peppers, onions, green chilies, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, green chili sauce, vinegar, black pepper, spring onions, oil, salt

Allergens

Milk from the paneer. Soy from the soy sauce. Wheat twice over — maida in the batter, and most soy sauce is brewed with wheat. Sesame is not yet settled: there is no sesame oil in our version, and we will confirm it against the products we buy.

Not yet confirmed: sesame. These depend on a supplier product we have not locked down. Until we have, we would rather list them than leave them off.

Dietary

Vegetarian. Not gluten-free as specified — the texture depends on some maida. A gluten-free version is possible with a cornstarch-only batter and tamari, and we will only offer it once we can guarantee both.

Khwan-e-Sheerin

The Sweet Table

Two chilled, one warm. The Nizams closed a feast with apricots and with bread pudding, and both are still how a Hyderabadi wedding ends.

Khubani-e-Khaas

House Special

Apricot delight

A chilled, layered interpretation of Hyderabadi khubani ka meetha, with cardamom-scented cream and blanched nuts.

Inspired by Hyderabadi khubani ka meethaContains egg, wheat, milk, tree nuts, sulphites

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Contains egg and wheat.

The dessert that inspired ours is khubani ka meetha — dried apricots soaked overnight and slow-cooked with sugar into a thick compote, served with cream and garnished with blanched almonds. Khubani is Urdu for apricot; the fruit came to India from Central Asia, and the dessert took its present form in the royal kitchens of the Asaf Jahi Nizams, where it held pride of place on ceremonial feasts. It remains a fixture at Hyderabadi weddings.

Ours is a chilled, layered interpretation of that compote with cardamom-scented cream — our own dessert, built on a Hyderabadi foundation.

What is in it

Dried apricots, sugar, water, cardamom, cream, milk, wheat flour, eggs, butter, vanilla, baking powder, blanched almonds and pistachios

Allergens

Egg and wheat, both declared at the point of order and on every container. Milk from the cream, milk and butter. Tree nuts from the almonds and pistachios. Sulphites from the dried apricots, which are sulphited to preserve their colour — in Canada the components of dried fruit must be declared regardless of quantity.

Dietary

Contains egg, so we do not label this dish vegetarian. Many Indian vegetarian customers, including most Hindu and Jain diners, do not count eggs as vegetarian, and we would rather say so plainly than have you find out. Not gluten-free.

Worth knowing before you order

Garnished with blanched almonds and pistachios only. Traditional recipes sometimes use apricot kernels; we do not and will not — Health Canada warns that bitter apricot kernels release cyanide when eaten.

Ananas-e-Firdaus

House SpecialVegetarian

Pineapple delight

Pineapple layered with sweetened, thickened milk and cream, chilled and served cold. The light finish on the menu.

House creationContains milk

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

Our own dessert, and we make no historical claim for it: pineapple layered with sweetened, thickened milk and cream, chilled and served cold. The name is ours, chosen in the Hyderabadi habit of naming desserts elegantly — ananas is pineapple, firdaus is paradise.

It is the light finish on the menu, and the one we send with the heaviest biryani orders.

What is in it

Pineapple, milk, cream, sugar

Allergens

Milk, from the milk and cream.

Dietary

Vegetarian. Milk and cream are the only allergens in it — the shortest allergen list on the menu.

Double Ka Meetha

Signature

Hyderabadi bread pudding

Bread fried in ghee, soaked in saffron-and-cardamom syrup, layered with thickened sweetened milk and finished with nuts.

Heritage — Deccani Mughlai / NizamiContains milk, wheat, tree nutsMay contain egg, soy, sesame

Story, ingredients & allergen detail

A traditional Hyderabadi dessert from the Deccani Mughlai kitchen, dating to the era of the Nizams and believed to be a local adaptation of the Mughal-era shahi tukda, made with the bread that was available and scented with regional flavourings like saffron and kewra.

The name is literal: double roti is the colloquial term for leavened Western-style milk bread, so called because it rises to nearly double its size in the oven, and meetha means sweet — the sweet made of double bread. Slices are fried in ghee, soaked in saffron-and-cardamom syrup, layered with thickened sweetened milk, and finished with nuts. Alongside khubani ka meetha, it is one of the two desserts that define a Hyderabadi wedding table.

What is in it

Bread (milk bread / white sandwich loaf), milk, sugar, saffron, cardamom, ghee, almonds, cashews, pistachios, raisins, kewra water

Allergens

Milk, wheat and tree nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios). Egg, soy and sesame are not yet settled, and they come from the bread rather than the recipe: commercial sandwich loaves frequently contain soy and sesame and sometimes egg. Whatever the loaf declares, we declare.

Not yet confirmed: egg, soy, sesame. These depend on a supplier product we have not locked down. Until we have, we would rather list them than leave them off.

Dietary

We are not labelling this vegetarian yet. Commercial sandwich bread sometimes contains egg, and until we have an egg-free loaf confirmed and its label on file, the claim would be a guess.

How to read this menu

What the labels mean

Where a dish comes from

Every dish carries one of these, so that nothing on this menu claims a history it cannot support.

Heritage: Documented in Hyderabadi culinary tradition.
Modern Hyderabadi restaurant: A 20th-century creation of the city's restaurants.
Regional / Indo-Chinese: From elsewhere in India, now standard on Hyderabad menus. We credit where it came from.
House creation: Ours — our own dish, or our own name for one. No heritage claimed.

How hot

Hyderabadi food is chilli-forward, and we cook it that way. Spice can be adjusted on advance orders.

Medium: Biryani-e-Bagh · Hyderabadi Royal Paneer Biryani · Hyderabadi Royal Chicken Biryani
Medium-hot: Kachche Murgh ki Biryani · Kachche Gosht ki Biryani · Hyderabadi Royal Keema and Prawn Biryani · Mutton Ghee Roast
Hot: Chicken Majestic · Apollo Fish · Chili Paneer

Allergens

We use Health Canada's priority allergen list, plus sulphites. Each dish shows two lines when both apply:

Contains: In the dish as we make it. Confirmed, and stated outright.
May contain: Depends on a supplier product we have not finished confirming — which soy sauce, which flour, which loaf. Named rather than hidden, so you can decide.

On this menu: Milk, Wheat, Tree nuts, Crustacean (prawn), Egg, Soy, Fish, Sesame, Mustard, Sulphites.

Before you order

Four things we would rather you heard from us

No biryani on this menu is gluten-free

The crispy fried onions we buy are coated in wheat flour, and they go into all six. One garnish makes the whole collection a wheat dish. We could fry our own in rice flour and change that — it is on the list — but until we do, we will not sell you a gluten-free biryani.

four dishes are vegetarian, and none is vegan

Biryani-e-Bagh, Hyderabadi Royal Paneer Biryani, Chili Paneer and Ananas-e-Firdaus — all of them contain dairy. Khubani-e-Khaas is not vegetarian: it contains egg, and we know most Indian vegetarian diners do not count that. Chicken Majestic, Apollo Fish and Double Ka Meetha are unlabelled for now, because commercial sandwich bread sometimes contains egg and we have not confirmed our loaf.

Hyderabadi Royal Keema and Prawn Biryani cannot be made without prawns

Not from the same pot. A prawn-free version is a separate cook on separate equipment, or we say no. Shellfish is the most serious allergen on this menu and prawns are not obvious once they are folded into rice.

five dishes have allergens we are still confirming

Which soy sauce, which flour in the batter, whether the ghee roast tempers with mustard seed, what the bread label says. Each is a supplier decision rather than a recipe one, and each is listed on the dish as a named maybe until it is settled. Ask us and we will tell you exactly where we have got to.

Illustration — a Bell Peppers "Coming Soon" A-board on a quiet street, lettered "Authentic Recipes. Royal Experience."

Curries and breads are not here yet

Deliberately. The breads exist to be eaten with the gravies, so they will arrive together rather than one at a time. This first menu is biryani-led with dry starters and desserts — which is also the set that holds its temperature best on the way to you.

Feeding more than a table

Hosting a gathering?

This menu is what we cook for delivery and takeout. For a celebration, a corporate lunch or a family occasion, we start from the gathering rather than the list — tell us what you are hosting and we will recommend a direction.

Tell us about your event Email us about an order