Hyderabad, Feb. 18 -- When a chef from Odisha curates a Deccani menu for the people of Hyderabad, you know the city's culinary soul is just right. Sheraton Hotel's latest pop-up, Daawat-e-Deccan, is a sweet reminder of this very soul the city prides itself on.

Chef SK Quadri may have been born in East India, but his hands speak Dakhni- the language of slow cooking, spices and the revered Dum. Having spent years as a "shagird (student)" under the Nizami cuisine expert Hamida Begum, he inherited this legacy of the royal cuisine.

"As someone who has biryani running through his veins, Hyderabad was the perfect place for me to start my career," Quadri says with a laugh, "And when I met Hamida Begum at the start of my journey, I was intrigued...