Craze, inflation and bird flu panic drive up haleem prices in Hyderabad

Hyderabad's favorite haleem now a pricey affair, with rates touching ₹300 per plate at popular outlets.

Pop up haleem stalls now light up the nights on many thoroughfares in Hyderabad. But Hyderabad’s favourite Ramzan delicacy is now a pricey affair, with rates touching ₹300 per plate at some of the most popular haleem outlets. Most of the well-known outlets have pegged the price at ₹300 including Pista House, 555, Sarvi and a host of others.

“Last year we sold haleem for ₹280. This year there is a surge in demand for meat as bird flu has affected the sale of chicken meat. Wedding caterers are avoiding chicken, restaurants are reporting a drop in the sale of chicken dishes. This has impacted meat prices and forced us to raise prices,” says M. A. Majeed of Pista House. Mr. Majeed, who started selling haleem for ₹18 in 1997 has seen the price of the dish go up as well as the popularity including a GI tag. Pista House now has 52 outlets in the city.

While the ₹20 hike may appear insignificant, for families like Syed Maqsood, who lives in Golconda, it pinches. “I’ll have to buy five haleems if my family wants to have it. We will have to skip dinner to be able to pay so much for this fancy dish”, says Mr. Maqsood, who drives an autorickshaw for a living.

Over the past decade, the average price of haleem has gone up from ₹130 in 2014 to ₹280 in 2024 which is a 130% increase over 11 years. This is higher than the average food inflation, which has hovered around 5% to 6% over the past few years or about 60% in decadal value. But the price of haleem has almost kept pace with the rise in retail price of meat, from about ₹400 in 2014 to current price of ₹800.

While the hype and craze of haleem is drawing people from across the city and even from other cities to sample the stuff, Swaroop remembers piling into his uncle’s Omni to reach Paradise and clean off two plates of haleem served in a ceramic bowl, each plate costing ₹10. Now, the same Paradise hotel serves the haleem in a styrofoam cup pricing it at ₹299 at their main outlet.

Lighting up the night in Masab Tank area is 555 which has taken the art of add-ons to a different level. This year the haleem is priced at ₹300. “I remember the first haleem that I ate was in 1947 at the Madina Hotel in Old City. I and my friend paid char anna (25 paise) for two platefuls of haleem,” informs Ali Reza Jowkar of Cafe 555, which was started in 1952 in another part of the city.