Hyderabadi connection

On a routine trip down the Old Mahabalipuram Road, we spot a signboard that reads ‘art of Hyderabadi cuisine’.Curious, we enter Rasavid with an open mind, only to be told that the menu is still under process and will be finalised in a month.Owner Manoharan Karthik adds that the restaurant has been operational since April.Located on the first floor of a building opposite Aravind Theatre in Karapakkam, it has 62 covers and comes with no-fuss seating.Karthik plies us with a platter of kebabs that includes the Amritsari fish.Garlic heavy and a bit sour, it comes with a mint chutney and crumbles just as my fork touches it.The hariyali and malai kebabs that folow are an improvement, the latter being soft and coated generously with ginger garlic.Karthik insists that his butter naan is popular with the locals and while I enjoy the thin naans soaked in vegetable fat, my North Indian companion insists that back home it would be called a paratha! Next up, the special Hyderabadi biryani and butter chicken - special in the sense that the rice is Hyderabadi, while the meat used is boneless and of the chilli chicken variety.The good news is that it comes with a tang of lime and when mixed with the rice is quite delicious.The butter chicken, however, has a ketchup after taste. The meal ends with a kulfi ice cream. Perhaps Hyderabadi Rasavid deserves another visit once their complete menu is in place, but for now, the restaurant has no trouble attracting diners and we find the locals pouring in till closing hours.Meal for two at approximately Rs 350-400.Details: 9600005654