The Chaush or Chaus are a community who are of Hadhrami

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

descent. They are found in the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

region of India.Omar Khalidi
The Arabs of Hadramawt in Hyderabad
in Mediaeval Deccan History, eds Kulkarni, Naeem and de Souza, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1996, pg 63 The Chaush or Chaus were brought from Yemen to work in the former

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

as military men for the

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

s. It is said that especially when it came to safe guarding his family, the 7th Nizam had absolute trust on these Arab Soldiers.A home for the Chaush community

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

, 25 Sep 2011 They are most concentrated in

Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions, and most of their population is concentrated in the neighbourhoods of Barkas in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, Shasha Mahallah in

Karimnagar Karimnagar, also informally known as Elagandula, is a city and District Headquarters in the Indian state of Telangana. Karimnagar is a major urban agglomeration in the state. It is third largest City in the state and Municipal Corporation and i ...

, Al-Tamash in

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

. They also live in

Adilabad Adilabad, also known as Edlawada and Eddulapuram, is a city which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana. Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Lambadi and Gondi are the most spoken languages of Adilabad. Adilabad ...

, Asifabad, Kagaznagar, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar and

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...

. The founders of both the Qu'aiti and Kathiri states in

Hadhramawt Hadhramaut ( ; ) is a geographic region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah and Mahrah, Dhofar in southwestern Oman, and Sharurah in the Najran Province of Saudi Ara ...

had previously served as

jemadar Jemadar or jamadar ( Hindustani: जमादार; جمعدار) is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arab ...

s in

Cuisine

The Hyderabadi

haleem Haleem or halim is a type of stew that is widely consumed in South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia. Although the dish varies from region to region, it optionally includes wheat or barley, meat and lentils. It is made by slow cooking the ...

, marag (mutton stew), murtabaq,

shorba Chorba ( ; ) or shorba ( ; ) is a broad class of stews or rich soups found in national cuisines across the Middle East, Algeria, Maghreb, Iran, Turkey, Southeast Europe, Central Asia, East Africa and South Asia. It is often prepared with added in ...

, harira, mandi, kabsa, maqluba, tas kabab, lukhmi, sheer khurma, qubani ka meetha and

malida Malida (Pashto 'ماليده'; alternatively spelled as Maleeda, called, Urdu: چُوری, Hindi: चूरी, or ملیدہ in Hyderabadi Urdu) is a traditional sweet dessert popular among Pashtun and Persian households in Afghanistan and P ...

have been introduced in Hyderabad by the Chaush or Arabs.

Cuisine

See also

References

Further reading