Unlimited ghee rice, spicy chicken curry are among the stars at Hamza’s in Kochi

Hamza's offers simple, comforting Kerala food with unlimited ghee rice and meat dishes in a quaint, old-world setting.

The fare at Hamza’s is simple, straightforward and basic. It is no fuss, there is no elaborate menu to ponder over… the printout stuck on a wall announces ‘unlimited’ ghee rice plus six meat dishes you can pick to go with it. Open for the past two years, since 2022, the restaurant, in a tiled roof 84-year-old house on Pipeline Road, Edappally, is a favourite with those who love typical naadan (Kerala) food which is not the seafood oonu or sadya. Ghee rice with either chicken or beef is a popular combination and is as comforting as fish curry meals.

The quaintness of the house drew architect and amateur chef Mazan Hamza to it; he decided to retain its old-world charm. He says he decided to keep the menu simple. A fresh coat of paint later, the restaurant was open. The ‘vibe’ of the house suggested something typically local and neychore it was. Ghee rice and meat/chicken combinations are part of restaurant menus in Kochi but there are few that serve these exclusively. 

Wooden benches and tables placed along the walls of the three rooms and verandah can accommodate 60 people, there is seating arrangement outside as well.  Each vacant table has a folded banana leaf, which one unfolds for the food to be served. First off comes the star — steaming hot, fragrant neychore made of the small-grained kaima rice. Traditionally small-grained rice is used to make ghee rice and biryani in Kerala. 

The lunch crowd on a working day is a pointer to the popularity of the place. The speed with which the food arrives resembles a quick service restaurant, there’s never a lull. First come the accompaniments — lime pickle, a tangy slivered onion salad and a chicken salna. Salna is an onion and tomato-based spiced gravy. Keeping the menu compact ensures that there is control over the quality of food and consistency of taste.

We go with the staff recommendation of the bestsellers — kozhi kanthari varattiyathu, kozhi porichathu and beef dry fry (BDF). The other sides are beef kurumulaku varattiyathu, beef pallicurry and beef vindaloo. The bestsellers are BDF and chicken fry. On weekends Hamza’s sells between 80-100 kilograms of ghee rice alone, says Mazan.

The kozhi kanthari is chicken in a green chilli-based gravy, it lacks the heat of bird’s eye chilli but is flavourful, as is the kozhi porichathu (chicken fry). The BDF, unlike the usual diced pieces, is thin, crisp, juicy strips with a hint of green chilli. The portions of the curries will suffice for one person. The food is prepared at a central kitchen at another property of Hamza’s — Hamza’s Naadan Grills at Vennala.

Although when it started out it was a lunch and dinner spot, Hamza’s now serves breakfast, from 7.30am-10.30am, with beef stew, vegetable stew, appam and bread.