Meet Hyderabad’s BTech graduates who changed their careers but still flaunt their engineering degrees on the signboards of their culinary ventures
Meet Hyderabad’s BTech graduates who changed their careers but still flaunt their engineering degrees on the signboards of their culinary ventures
Sign boards come in a variety of shapes and sizes. He also has a degree in Hyderabad.
A wave of BTech graduates from Hyderabad launching small and medium businesses are gaining attention because of their appetite for quirky names. At Ameerpet, Yashwant Alikatti dons the chef’s hat to prepare his signature dish, fried chicken biryani In ‘B.Tech Biryani – An Engineer’s Endeavor’.
B.Tech Biryani
Yashwant Alikatti | photo credit: Ramakrishna
Yashwant, a native of Miryalaguda in Nalgonda district, used to help make kurkures in his mother’s kitchen during festivals. Chaklu, A delicious breakfast, and a traditional rice flour and jaggery dish Appu He ventured into the food business in 2018 after completing his engineering from Methodist College, Abids and launched a food truck in Kukatpally with a friend.
A view of B Tech Biryani at Ameerpet in Hyderabad. photo credit: Ramakrishna
The food truck closed in two months. Yashwant took a BPO job for six months in 2019, only to return to the food business by managing a friend’s cloud kitchen for a year. In February 2022 he founded BTech Biryani. “I didn’t aim to build just another eatery,” he explains, pointing to its modest 320-square-foot space. “From the name to the food, I wanted to create an identity that would grab people’s attention.”
Tech in the name of the restaurant was to connect with the students who come to Ameerpet to pursue various software courses. “When they realize this is an engineer’s effort, they will support it,” he insists. “I wanted a name that combined two things – my entrepreneurship story and the fact that an engineer is the chef here.”
Yashwant Alikatti | photo credit: Ramakrishna
Yashwant spent four months researching, tweaking recipes to make a biryani. “Hyderabad and” biryani Synonyms,” he says, “we use bite-sized chicken pieces that can absorb all the spices.” Although he hired a chef for two months, he is now cooking himself. The business has increased from selling 12 plates of biryani a day in the first month to 150 plates.
He believes that a catering degree would have been more helpful for his new career than engineering. “Like many middle class students, I too was under pressure at home to pursue a professional degree. It took time to convince my mother about the career change,” explains Yashwant, “I feel proud when the students listening to my story at the restaurant feel inspired to follow their passion.”
Sanjeev Prasad in the kitchen | photo credit: Nagra Gopal
B.Tech Chaiwala
Love of Shashikant Jadhav, Prem Birdar, Sanjeev Prasad and Arjun Saud hot tea BTech Chaiwala was started last year. A decade ago, four classmates and friends used to travel by bus to Hyderabad to drink different types of tea. His love for tea only got stronger when he did his BTech in Avanti College of Engineering in 2014.
Initially, they set up a small tea kiosk on the side of the road in 2017, but it had to be closed due to road widening work. Determined to make tea professionally, he opened BTech Chaiwala in October 2021. While Shashikant, Prem and Arjun work day jobs with Axiom Technologies, HCL Technologies and Citibank respectively, Sanjeev is a tea maker and a maker of Sandwiches, Vada Pav and Maggi.
Shashikant serves tea to a group of people. photo credit: Nagra Gopal
On weekends the four companions take turns working in the cafe. The 300 sq ft space on the busy Chikkadpally main road accommodates 16 people. Shashikant says, “We are doing well in our careers and are also inspired to start something that combines our education and love for tea.” “Tea and BTech combination is a feeling; students will understand it.” While brainstorming friends considered names like fond (in love) or Chai Minar (a play on Charminar) but settled on ‘B.Tech Chaiwala’ as the full name, as it blends their passion and degree.
An AB Tech degree has been an asset in the food business, says Shashikant. “It made us want to be unique and competitive.” He says his family was supportive, thankfully. “When budding engineers take selfies with our signboards and post stories tagging us on Instagram, it feels like a dream come true.”
The USP of the outlet are masala chai in 16 flavors including dum, green, lemon and masala chai, as well as more unusual options like curry leaves, black pepper and saunth (dry ginger powder). “We do not use any premix powder to make tea; We grind the spices fresh,” says Sanjeev.
With a franchise now in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, friends are expected to open tea stalls in junctions leading to various B Tech colleges in Hyderabad. “It’s more like a family than a partnership,” says Prem Kumar.
B.Tech Babu Spicy House, Bachupally
Srikanth Reddy | photo credit: special arrangement
Chinese food lovers are spoiled for choice with 99 varieties of starters, soups and main courses at BTech Babu Spicy House in Bachupally. A BTech graduate, founder Srikanth Reddy quit his job at Cognizant within eight months to delve into the food business. “Having a unique name to attract customers is half the job,” says Srikanth. His marketing strategy is working because most of the customers who walk in are young people who are fascinated by the name and the story behind it. want.
Srikanth had never imagined himself in the food business while pursuing his BTech from Kandula Obul Reddy Memorial College of Engineering, Cuddapah. “After working for four years at Regal-Beloit Corporation, I was dreaming of running my own enterprise; I have a passion for food, so I worked to turn my passion into a business,” he recalls.
Srikanth says an engineering degree has helped with his communication skills. “BTech degree has indirectly helped me in my food business. I am able to interact with customers easily. This degree makes me a more confident entrepreneur.”
A view of BTech Babu Spicy House in Bachupally | photo credit: special arrangement
He works from a 150-square-foot container with two Nepalese chefs who specialize in Chinese cuisine, serving up popular staples such as fried rice, noodles, Schezwan rice and chicken Hong Kong, which cost upwards of ₹60. September has been a special month for Srikanth as he has given his first franchise to a friend in Sangareddy.
He admits that it was difficult to convince his family. “My father was so upset, he didn’t talk to me for two weeks when I told him about my decision to quit my job and do so. But now, he’s happy and encouraging.”
B.Tech Pulao Wala, Kothapet
Meeting Sun | photo credit: special arrangement
Sabhavat Ravi dropped out of his BTech course at KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Moinabad in his third year in 2014 due to personal issues. A good cook, she realized that she enjoys having home cooked pulao and biryani with friends. “I used to watch my father and I learned to cook from him,” he says. Feedback from friends prompted him to start a fast food joint in Madhapur in 2019, but he faced losses when the lockdown began.
He made a new beginning by launching BTech Pulao Wala, a roadside set up in Kothapet in December 2021. Ravi cooks with a chef in a kitchen in Dilsukhnagar and delivers the food in an auto. The menu includes chicken fry, chicken and boti curry, chicken biryani And bagara Rice, vegetarian biryani and a simple thali cost ₹70. “Simple and affordable recipes are my USP,” he says. Open for lunch only, the outlet has grown from serving 20 customers in the initial months to around 300 people now.
Ravi also takes orders from the party and completes four tasks involving about 150 people. Like everyone else, he too is satisfied with his way from BTech to the stove. “It’s a small setup but I feel satisfied at the end of the day because it’s my own,” he says.