Forgotten royal cuisine of Sailana returns to Hyderabad with 10-day food festival

Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre is showcasing the forgotten royal cuisine of Sailana through a 10-day food festival featuring heritage recipes, traditional slow-cooking techniques and curated tasting menus by Chef Zafaryab Quraishi, reviving one of India's rarest culinary traditions.

Hyderabad: One of India’s forgotten royal culinary traditions is making a rare appearance in Hyderabad as the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre presents a 10-day festival celebrating the cuisine of Sailana, a former princely state in present-day Madhya Pradesh.

Running from July 10 to 19 at Bidri, the showcase features a specially curated table d’hôte tasting menu based on the documented culinary archives of Maharaja Digvijay Singh of Sailana. During his travels across the kitchens of undivided India, the Maharaja meticulously recorded recipes that were in danger of disappearing along with the royal households that preserved them. Today, those journals are regarded as one of India’s most valuable records of royal gastronomy.

---

The cuisine reflects remarkable attention to technique and ingredient selection. Its defining cooking method, known as bhunao, involves slowly frying meat and spices in heavy brass pans while gradually adding yoghurt or water as the masala develops. Unlike many modern Indian recipes, tomatoes are almost entirely absent, with sourness derived from yoghurt, tamarind, lemon juice and amchoor.

Among the highlights is Murgh Musk, an unusual slow-cooked chicken dish historically flavoured with edible deer musk extracts. The menu also includes Kari Pata Gosht and the distinctive Lassan ki Kheer, in which garlic buds are repeatedly boiled in alum water until they lose their pungency and develop an almond-like texture before being served in sweetened milk. Other dishes are delicately scented with rose petals, sandalwood powder and aromatic spices, reflecting the sophistication of Sailana’s royal kitchens.

The revival has been led by Chef Zafaryab Quraishi, who spent years researching Sailana’s culinary history through royal family descendants, historians and traditional home cooks. His extensive documentation of forgotten recipes and cooking techniques now forms the foundation of the festival menu, bringing a little-known chapter of India’s culinary heritage back to contemporary diners.

Price & Venue: The vegetarian tasting menu is priced at Rs 3,000++ per guest, while the non-vegetarian menu costs Rs 3,500++ per guest. The festival is being held at Bidri, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad, from 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm until July 19. For reservations, call +91 9666211668.