Gadrung

Food & Culture Feature

Gadrung

Hyderabad Deccani Cuisine · Art · Heritage

Gadrung is a Hyderabad Deccani restaurant located in DHA Lahore, founded in February 2025 by Shireen Bano Rizvi — a visual artist, miniature painter, and chef.

Rooted in authentic family recipes, pure ingredients, and traditional cooking methods, Gadrung brings the rich culinary memory of Hyderabad Deccan to Lahore.

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A Taste of Hyderabad Deccan

Located in DHA Lahore, Gadrung was created with the vision of offering authentic and healthy Hyderabadi cuisine. Every dish is cooked strictly in pure mustard oil and desi ghee, with organic wheat flour specially sourced from real wheat.

All spices are true to their recipes and personally sourced by Shireen from Lahore’s inner city, with no quick or ready-made pastes used. Each recipe is followed with careful detail to preserve its traditional taste, aroma, and character.

“Food, like art, preserves memory.”

The use of pure ingredients also makes Gadrung’s food lighter, easier to digest, and, in Shireen’s words, “healthier than home.”

Shireen Bano Rizvi

Meet the Person

Shireen Bano Rizvi

Shireen Bano Rizvi is a visual artist, miniature painter, and chef. Her family hailed from the historic city of Hyderabad Deccan, where generations before her perfected recipes passed from mother to daughter and grandmother to grandchild.

Growing up, she listened to stories while the aroma of baghara baingan, khatti daal, and khubani ka meetha filled the house. To her, those dishes were as much a work of art as any painting.

The Story Behind the Name

Though she loved academia, Shireen often felt the flavors of her heritage deserved a wider audience. One evening, while preparing a family feast for friends, an idea took root: if paintings could preserve memory on canvas, perhaps food could preserve memory on a plate.

A coloring technique in miniature painting is known as Gadrung, and the word also refers to opaque foods like meat. A friend, Shajia, suggested that the name could paint both canvases at the same time — visual art and culinary art.

A year later, Shireen opened a restaurant dedicated to the cuisine of Hyderabad Deccan. The walls displayed her own paintings, and the kitchen followed treasured family recipes with the same care an artist gives to a masterpiece.

“She had never truly changed careers — she had simply found a larger canvas.”

A Feast of Tradition

From aromatic rice and slow-cooked curries to rich gravies and traditional desserts, Gadrung celebrates the detail, patience, and generosity of Hyderabad Deccan cuisine.

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Current Focus & Upcoming Work

Gadrung has hosted several pop-ups across Lahore, but Shireen now feels it is time to focus fully on her own space and continue improving Gadrung’s internal systems, service, and dining experience.

Shireen recently exhibited her artwork in Karachi and continues to participate in exhibitions. Another exhibition is expected in Lahore, with details to be announced soon.

Culture Feature

Where Food Becomes Memory

Gadrung stands as a rare example of how artistic practice can move beyond the gallery — preserving heritage through taste, storytelling, and tradition.

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