Guess what is trending in Haleem in Hyderabad? It is Bahubali haleem. Conceptualised by Khaleel Ahmed who is a huge fan of actor Prabhas who played the title role in Bahubali (2015), the Bahubali haleem platter comes with a more than just the boiled egg, a few fried cashew pieces and pudina.
When Khaleel, also known as Roshan of Grill9 in Karkhana, conceived the idea of Bahubalu haleem in 2019, it didn’t quite click. With COVID-19 restrictions eased, Roshan decided to revive it this year. Roshan says “When I launched it in 2019 I was confident because I was offering a lot of ‘other favourites’ with haleem. It didn’t get too much attention then because I had launched the haleem towards the end of Ramzan season.”
By ‘other favourites’ he means Pathar ka gosht, Reshmi kebab, nalli along with a rich paya shorba. “We used the same haleem for Bahubali, we only enhanced the sides to go with it” says Roshan.
He reasons, “For two years everyone, irrespective of religion, missed the Ramzan fervour. Now, they are eager to try what they missed. Social media played a huge role too as regular customers posted photos of this special dish online. Several eople also order Bahubali haleem out of curiosity,” adds Roshan.
Bahubali haleem platter is ideal for a group of four diners. There is also a takeaway option with special rectangular-shaped takeaway boxes for convenience and to retain the plating look. He says, “ The Bahubali boxes are priced at ₹ 999. On special request, we also do a supreme Bahubali platter that is good for eight people.”