Food Secrets: Why This 70-Year-Old ‘Ghee Destination’ in Hyderabad Is a Culinary Legend

While Hyderabad may be famous for its iconic Charminar, IT ecosystem, pearls and mouth-watering biryani, there is yet another fascinating facet of the city that aside from the residents, few else would know.

Standing tall amidst many swanky outlets and the upcoming Metro rail construction is Sri Murugan Ghee stores, a 70-year-old shop along the narrow lanes of Badi Chowdi, whose ‘ghee’ continues to remain a hit!

Such is its loyal customer base that even after approximately seven decades of operations, people from all corners of the city have no qualms about travelling the distance to purchase the dairy product.

An interesting anecdote about the store is that its founder, AV Shanmugam, was all of 17 when he had opened it in Badi Chowdi after moving from Tamil Nadu to Hyderabad in the early 1950s.

It all began when Shanmugam felt the need for pure and fresh ghee in the city and decided to open a ghee store. For this, he would cycle down to the railway station every morning to procure fresh milk that arrived from his homeland, Tamil Nadu.

“Everyday my father would get the milk on his cycle from the station and then prepare ghee on his own in the same shop. Later, when the demand started increasing, he decided to set up a factory in Uppal which is still running as we speak,” said S Balaji, the second son of Shanmugam and co-owner of Sri Murugan Ghee Store to Telangana Today.

Today, the store and its operations are evenly managed between Shanmugam’s three sons: Jawahar Raj, Balaji and Venkatanand, who joined their father’s venture upon completing their education.

While store’s identity continues to rest upon its fresh ghee, it has now expanded and also offers a range of dairy products including paneer, khowa, curd and buttermilk to its customers. Besides the original retail store in Badi Chowdi and a factory in Uppal, the brothers also have a store plying out of Ashok Nagar.

If you happen to visit the store, you would find some really old folks amidst the crowd that shows up at Sri Murugan stores regularly, who continue to vouch for the brand and its unparalleled excellence. The cornerstone of their success,Balaji states, has been their uncompromising guarantee about the quality of their products.

You may also like: Grandma Says Desi Ghee Is Good for Your Health & Science Says She Is Right!

“We get butter from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and never use preservatives. Our ghee is fresh for nine months and we always make sure that the expectations from our regular clientele are met. Also, our employees have been around for a long time and know how important quality control is for a business such as ours,” he told The Hindu.

Well, the good news is that the option to purchase and sample the ghee is not just restricted to people living in Hyderabad; you can try the iconic product as well! Sri Murugan Ghee stores now has an online presence, and they supply to all corners of the country. So, go ahead and check out the website here.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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