The Cherished Cafe , Blue Sea - Aakanksha

The cherished café, Blue Sea

Blue Sea Secunderabad

Hyderabad, the city known for its IT sector, pearls and biryani is also famous for its rich culture, heritage and resplendent cuisine. A fast-growing metropolitan city with thousands of immigrants and tourists to visit every day. Ruled by the Qutub Shahi dynasty for several years the city has a greater influence of the Nizams and even the Kakatiya dynasty.

With the invasion of several foreign traders from various parts of the world it definitely witnessed a change in the cuisine. The Turks, Afghans, Mughal and the Qutub Shahis introduced varied cuisine to the city. One among them is the famous ‘Biryani’ whose origin is still debated among the food scholars. One say it’s from Persia and others believe it’s from Iran and few even say that it was first made in India by the Mughals, we will leave it to the historians to decide.

The other definitely has to be ‘Tea’ or commonly known as ‘chai’. Now tea has its proper origin, native to East Asia and southeast China, Indo-China and Assam. It was introduced worldwide. First introduced to the western priests and merchants in China, then Dutch, Russians and during 1600’s to the East India company. It became world widely popular during 1830’s and was consumed only by Anglo-Indians.

Talking about the city and its varied cuisine the Persian introduced the ‘Irani chai’ to the Hyderabadis. The concept of Irani cafes first was reached in Bombay in the late 19^th and 20^th century when the Persian immigrants moved to India. Now when it comes to Hyderabad, during the reign of Asaf Jah’s it always maintained good relations with Iranians who used to visit the city and started to settle down in the 20^th century.

Now these settlers brought the tea along with them and the Irani cafes sprung up in the city in no time. What makes the Irani chai so special is something that always people think about. It definitely lies in how it is served. The major difference that it always stands out is the making process. The decoction of the tea leaves along with water is boiled separately and the milk is boiled in a separate container. While serving they pour in the milk first and the decoction of the tea leaves is then poured in to the milk.

At one time Irani chai defined the café culture in Hyderabad, especially in the old city. The tea tradition retains in the city in small scattered bakeries or cafés and hundreds of them cannot start their day without the chai. The city is better known for its famous spots like Graden café, Paradise, Shah Ghouse restaurant, Farasha Irani café, Olympia’s café, a half century old Alpha bakery and the Blue Sea.

Talking about the Blue Sea café which was established during the late 1980’s still stands out to be one of the best Irani cafes in Hyderabad. Situated in the midst of the main city Secunderabad, near the metro station and in the busy Regimental bazar with a couple of bus stops nearby is a part of the hustle-bustle life. For the Irani tea lovers this place is a heaven. It surely symbolises the vintage atmosphere of an Irani café with wooden tables and chairs. The tea here is also known as ‘golden chai’ because its more milky and creamy. It is simmered for so long to get the golden hue and hence the name.

One has to definitely stand in a queue to get that one cup of tea and the wait will be the worth. Always crowded, the counter is always full of customers who pay for tokens. This café is not only famous for its tea but also for its snacks and confectionery. They freshly bake the Osmania biscuits and khari biscuits. People literally go gaga to decide among the longlisted menu which usually consists of samosa, puffs, tie biscuits, Osmania biscuits, dil khush, dil pasand, cream buns and cream rolls. The fine biscuits and toasts loaded with cumin seeds and tooty frooty and the jam rolls are iconic.